--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I…" description: "\"“If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as big again as I am!”\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg" --- # If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as… ![“If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as big again as I am!” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg) > ““If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as big again as I am!”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He imagines that being attacked would cause him to grow larger, reflecting a defensive ego inflation. **In simple terms:** He thinks being hurt would make him bigger. Key Takeaway Recognize when fear fuels overconfidence. Themes ego defense inflation psychology confidence Mood anxious defensive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - conflict - personal challenge - public criticism Key Concepts self‑importance ego defense growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - What situations trigger your defensive growth? - How can humility temper ego? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind one to real risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Swell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swell/) ## Related quotes > [Such bees! Bilbo had never seen anything like them. "If one were to sting me," He thought "I should swell up as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/such-bees-bilbo-had-never-seen-anything-like-them-if-one-were-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought I had swell ideas, and wonderful musicians, but the hell of it, no one else did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-miller/i-thought-i-had-swell-ideas-and-wonderful-musicians-but-the-hell-of/) [Glenn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-miller/) > [We hope that the elected officials will respond positively to a ground swell of letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from parents. The law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-hope-that-the-elected-officials-will-respond-positively-to-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, Pluto, here we are. Now for a swell vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-pluto-here-we-are-now-for-a-swell-vacation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never lick your wounds, unless you want to feel the sting a second time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-lick-your-wounds-unless-you-want-to-feel-the-sting-a-second-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgiveness is a funny thing, it warms the hearts and cools the sting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/forgiveness-is-a-funny-thing-it-warms-the-hearts-and-cools-the-sting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She'll sting you one day, Oh, ever so gently, so you hardly ever feel it. 'til you fall dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-ll-sting-you-one-day-oh-ever-so-gently-so-you-hardly-ever-feel-it-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember my mother finding mud somehow and putting it on the sting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-remember-my-mother-finding-mud-somehow-and-putting-it-on-the-sting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I lose my mind if I miss a swell that I want to be on and I have the ability to be on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-mcnamara/i-lose-my-mind-if-i-miss-a-swell-that-i-want-to-be-on-and-i-have-the/) [Garrett McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-mcnamara/) > [“The beginning of an attack I always experienced as a swell lurching up from unseen depths, similar to the physical sensation of standing waist-high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/the-beginning-of-an-attack-i-always-experienced-as-a-swell-lurching/) [Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/) > [“I allowed him to curse at me aloud My sorrows swelled bigger in size so did my sighs… From the poem- FROM THE FERRY…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/i-allowed-him-to-curse-at-me-aloud-my-sorrows-swelled-bigger-in-size/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms, can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/thou-art-slave-to-fate-chance-kings-and-desperate-men-and-dost-with/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [It's a perfect wave when small and the most beautiful and scary wave on Earth when it's big, as the swell from deep water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-slater/it-s-a-perfect-wave-when-small-and-the-most-beautiful-and-scary-wave/) [Kelly Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-slater/) > [“And I’d have you know, through all of it, I still had perfect nails! Because I am completely swell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-scheele/and-i-d-have-you-know-through-all-of-it-i-still-had-perfect-nails/) [Sarah Scheele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-scheele/) > [Peppers, garlic, hazelnuts and brazil nuts make my mouth, tongue and eyes swell and itch within minutes of eating them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-mclean/peppers-garlic-hazelnuts-and-brazil-nuts-make-my-mouth-tongue-and/) [Andrea McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-mclean/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Sting quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If you're going to exude naivete, you can't really... walk out there like it's a Sting show. You can't be that well put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-black/if-you-re-going-to-exude-naivete-you-can-t-really-walk-out-there-like/) [Frank Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-black/) > [Somebody should clip Sting around the head and tell him to stop using that ridiculous Jamaican accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/somebody-should-clip-sting-around-the-head-and-tell-him-to-stop-using/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [Wherever I go I make others feel good, and by doing this, I create life. I am a sting, and a dangerous instrument!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/wherever-i-go-i-make-others-feel-good-and-by-doing-this-i-create-life/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [My best moment with Sting was when they made a little movie, this kind of biopic of him. I go to be in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-archer/my-best-moment-with-sting-was-when-they-made-a-little-movie-this-kind/) [Lance Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-archer/) > [I’'d love to see Sting come back. The guys that had the potential to make any money and draw any money, they came. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-flair/i-d-love-to-see-sting-come-back-the-guys-that-had-the-potential-to/) [Ric Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-flair/) > [The Sting of a reproach, is the Truth of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-sting-of-a-reproach-is-the-truth-of-it/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Fame is a bee It has a song - It has a sting - Ah, too, it has a wing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/fame-is-a-bee-it-has-a-song-it-has-a-sting-ah-too-it-has-a-wing/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“be like a bee and put your life into the sting!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-heights/be-like-a-bee-and-put-your-life-into-the-sting/) Joshua Heights > [The Stones without Mick. The Police without Sting. The Doors without Jim. It doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-densmore/the-stones-without-mick-the-police-without-sting-the-doors-without/) [John Densmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-densmore/) > [“Don't lick your wounds unless you care to taste the sting a second time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/don-t-lick-your-wounds-unless-you-care-to-taste-the-sting-a-second/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I would say things like 'I am the greatest! I'm pretty! If you talk jive, you'll drop in five! I float like a butterfly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-would-say-things-like-i-am-the-greatest-i-m-pretty-if-you-talk-jive/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [I've got to like myself, I think, through my relationship with Sting, who pours love over me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudie-styler/i-ve-got-to-like-myself-i-think-through-my-relationship-with-sting/) [Trudie Styler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudie-styler/) > [There was a knock on our dressing-room door. Our manager shouted, 'Keith! Ron! The Police are here!' Oh, man, we panicked, flushed everything down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/there-was-a-knock-on-our-dressing-room-door-our-manager-shouted-keith/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [“In the school suggestion box, brought out at times, Sting put in a scrap of notepaper advising the authorities to ban the ‘slipper’, advising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-berryman/in-the-school-suggestion-box-brought-out-at-times-sting-put-in-a/) [James Berryman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-berryman/) Browse all 131 Sting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as big again as I am!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-should-swell-up-as-big-again-as-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-should-swell-up-as-big-again-as-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/anonymous-1_sting_if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-shou_169290.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If one was to sting me,” he thought, “I should swell up as big again as I am!” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If one was to sting me,”...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-should-swell-up-as-big-again-as-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-one-was-to-sting-me-he-thought-i-should-swell-up-as-big-again-as-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```