--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only then, by a ricochet mechanism that…" description: "\"“Only then, by a ricochet mechanism that totally surprised me, did it hit me. Had Oliver been doing the same with me? Intentionally ignoring me all the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/andre-aciman-459_ricochet_only-then-by-a-ricochet-mechanism-that-t_1053774.png" --- # Only then, by a ricochet mechanism that totally surprised… ![“Only then, by a ricochet mechanism that totally surprised me, did it hit me. Had Oliver been doing the same with me? Intentionally ignoring me all the time, the better to draw me in?” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/andre-aciman-459_ricochet_only-then-by-a-ricochet-mechanism-that-t_1053774.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/andre-aciman-459_ricochet_only-then-by-a-ricochet-mechanism-that-t_1053774.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/andre-aciman-459_ricochet_only-then-by-a-ricochet-mechanism-that-t_1053774.png) > ““Only then, by a ricochet mechanism that totally surprised me, did it hit me. Had Oliver been doing the same with me? Intentionally ignoring me all the time, the better to draw me in?”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A sudden realization hits when one sees a pattern of intentional neglect that may be a manipulative lure. **In simple terms:** Realizing hidden motives can be shocking. Key Takeaway Beware of subtle manipulation. Themes trust manipulation self‑awareness Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - romantic relationships - friendships - workplace interactions Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What patterns have you missed? - How do you test others' motives? A Different Perspective People may deny intent, making truth hard to confirm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ricochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ricochet/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) ## Related quotes > [“As often as not, he surprised himself. “What did I say?” he would ask after getting severe blowback.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/as-often-as-not-he-surprised-himself-what-did-i-say-he-would-ask/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Her expression was that of a woman with multiple children who was no longer surprised by anything they did, up to and including arriving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/her-expression-was-that-of-a-woman-with-multiple-children-who-was-no/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [“They are surprised that he did it, though, which shows you that the male mind expects very little in the way of altruism from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/they-are-surprised-that-he-did-it-though-which-shows-you-that-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Its better to be surprised by something you did not expect THAN to be frustrated something you believe to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-better-to-be-surprised-by-something-you-did-not-expect-than-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One inconvenience I sometimes experienced in so small a house, the difficulty of getting to a sufficient distance from my guest when we began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/one-inconvenience-i-sometimes-experienced-in-so-small-a-house-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm bulletproof...nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet...you take your aim. Fire away, fire away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia/i-m-bulletproof-nothing-to-lose-fire-away-fire-away-ricochet-you-take/) [Sia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia/) > [I don't want a ricochet romance, I don't want a ricochet love. If you're careless with your kisses, find another turtledove. I can't live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-brewer/i-don-t-want-a-ricochet-romance-i-don-t-want-a-ricochet-love-if-you/) Teresa Brewer > [Ricochet can do stuff that Brock Lesnar can't do and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-morgan/ricochet-can-do-stuff-that-brock-lesnar-can-t-do-and-vice-versa/) [Liv Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-morgan/) > [I had a list of names I wanted to use. Ricochet happened to be one of them, but I really wanted a true name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricochet/i-had-a-list-of-names-i-wanted-to-use-ricochet-happened-to-be-one-of/) [Ricochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricochet/) > [Truth is the ricochet of a prejudice bouncing off a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/truth-is-the-ricochet-of-a-prejudice-bouncing-off-a-fact/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [There's a lot of Hollywood bullshit about flying. I mean, look at the movies about test pilots or fighter pilots who face imminent death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-olds/there-s-a-lot-of-hollywood-bullshit-about-flying-i-mean-look-at-the/) [Robin Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-olds/) > [Oh, I'm always laughing with the children in 'Supernanny,' but you don't see it because Ricochet decide what to leave on the cutting-room floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-frost/oh-i-m-always-laughing-with-the-children-in-supernanny-but-you-don-t/) [Jo Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-frost/) > [“How can you ricochet from a moment where you are on top of the world to one where you are crawling at rock bottom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/how-can-you-ricochet-from-a-moment-where-you-are-on-top-of-the-world/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain everythingness of everything, in cahoots with the everythingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/knee-deep-in-the-cosmic-overwhelm-i-m-stricken-by-the-ricochet-wonder/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Every shot that kills ricochets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/every-shot-that-kills-ricochets/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Ricochet quotes > [Every shot that kills ricochets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/every-shot-that-kills-ricochets/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain everythingness of everything, in cahoots with the everythingness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/knee-deep-in-the-cosmic-overwhelm-i-m-stricken-by-the-ricochet-wonder/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [“How can you ricochet from a moment where you are on top of the world to one where you are crawling at rock bottom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/how-can-you-ricochet-from-a-moment-where-you-are-on-top-of-the-world/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Oh, I'm always laughing with the children in 'Supernanny,' but you don't see it because Ricochet decide what to leave on the cutting-room floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-frost/oh-i-m-always-laughing-with-the-children-in-supernanny-but-you-don-t/) [Jo Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-frost/) > [There's a lot of Hollywood bullshit about flying. I mean, look at the movies about test pilots or fighter pilots who face imminent death.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-olds/there-s-a-lot-of-hollywood-bullshit-about-flying-i-mean-look-at-the/) [Robin Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-olds/) > [Truth is the ricochet of a prejudice bouncing off a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/truth-is-the-ricochet-of-a-prejudice-bouncing-off-a-fact/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [I had a list of names I wanted to use. Ricochet happened to be one of them, but I really wanted a true name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricochet/i-had-a-list-of-names-i-wanted-to-use-ricochet-happened-to-be-one-of/) [Ricochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricochet/) > [Ricochet can do stuff that Brock Lesnar can't do and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-morgan/ricochet-can-do-stuff-that-brock-lesnar-can-t-do-and-vice-versa/) [Liv Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-morgan/) > [I don't want a ricochet romance, I don't want a ricochet love. If you're careless with your kisses, find another turtledove. I can't live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-brewer/i-don-t-want-a-ricochet-romance-i-don-t-want-a-ricochet-love-if-you/) Teresa Brewer > [I'm bulletproof...nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet...you take your aim. Fire away, fire away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia/i-m-bulletproof-nothing-to-lose-fire-away-fire-away-ricochet-you-take/) [Sia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia/) > [One inconvenience I sometimes experienced in so small a house, the difficulty of getting to a sufficient distance from my guest when we began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/one-inconvenience-i-sometimes-experienced-in-so-small-a-house-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wherever Ricochet and myself will go, NXT will forever be our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-black/wherever-ricochet-and-myself-will-go-nxt-will-forever-be-our-home/) Aleister Black > [I am not anti-gun. I'm pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-am-not-anti-gun-i-m-pro-knife-consider-the-merits-of-the-knife-in/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [“I don't want complicated. I don't want forever. I just want simple. No strings. I'm offering you exactly what you want. No-strings, no-shame, no-limits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skye-jordan/i-don-t-want-complicated-i-don-t-want-forever-i-just-want-simple-no/) [Skye Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skye-jordan/) > [Pleasure and pain at once register upon the lover, inasmuch as the desirability of the love object derives, in part, from its lack. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/pleasure-and-pain-at-once-register-upon-the-lover-inasmuch-as-the/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 21 Ricochet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ricochet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Only then, by a ricochet mechanism that totally surprised me, did it hit me. Had Oliver been doing the same with me? 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