---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must have humbug, we all like humbug…"
description: "\"“We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get on without humbug.”\" — Charles Dickens"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/charles-dickens-34_humbug_we-must-have-humbug-we-all-like-humbug-w_257342.jpg"
---

#  We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get…

![“We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get on without humbug.” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/charles-dickens-34_humbug_we-must-have-humbug-we-all-like-humbug-w_257342.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/charles-dickens-34_humbug_we-must-have-humbug-we-all-like-humbug-w_257342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/charles-dickens-34_humbug_we-must-have-humbug-we-all-like-humbug-w_257342.jpg)

> ““We must have humbug, we all like humbug, we couldn't get on without humbug.””

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People rely on cynicism and false comforts, but they cannot truly thrive without genuine hope.

**In simple terms:** Humbug hinders real progress.

Key Takeaway

Seek authentic optimism.

Themes

cynicism hope human nature

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- daily life
- workplace
- political discourse
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

skepticism social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you use humor to hide doubts?
- When is skepticism constructive?

A Different Perspective

Blind optimism can also be misleading.

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[H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/)

> [In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism and skepticism and humbug and we shall want to live more musically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/in-the-end-we-shall-have-had-enough-of-cynicism-and-skepticism-and/)

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/)

> [Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/witchcraft-is-one-of-the-most-baseless-absurd-disgusting-and-silly-of/)

[P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/)

> [ \[You write out of the\] desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, etc., etc., etc. It is humbug… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-write-out-of-the-desire-to-seem-clever-to-be-talked-about-to-be/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [It boils down to this: we should have done with humbug, and let war be war, and not a game ... If there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-boils-down-to-this-we-should-have-done-with-humbug-and-let-war-be/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [Sensitive, humbug. Everybody thinks I'm sensitive. Wait until they hear my new album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-king/sensitive-humbug-everybody-thinks-i-m-sensitive-wait-until-they-hear/)

[Carole King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-king/)

> [The humorist has a good eye for the humbug; he does not always recognize the saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-humorist-has-a-good-eye-for-the-humbug-he-does-not-always/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [The man is a humbug — a vulgar, shallow, self-satisfied mind, absolutely inaccessible to the complexities and delicacies of the real world. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-is-a-humbug-a-vulgar-shallow-self-satisfied-mind-absolutely/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [How can you see something that isn't there?" yawned the Humbug, who wasn't fully awake yet. "Sometimes, it's much simpler than seeing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/how-can-you-see-something-that-isn-t-there-yawned-the-humbug-who-wasn/)

[Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/)

> [The more intelligent and cultured a man is, the more subtly he can humbug himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-more-intelligent-and-cultured-a-man-is-the-more-subtly-he-can/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

## More by Charles Dickens

> [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/)

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> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/)

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> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

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[Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## More Humbug quotes

> [The more intelligent and cultured a man is, the more subtly he can humbug himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-more-intelligent-and-cultured-a-man-is-the-more-subtly-he-can/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

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> [The humorist has a good eye for the humbug; he does not always recognize the saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-humorist-has-a-good-eye-for-the-humbug-he-does-not-always/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure?" "I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/christmas-a-humbug-uncle-said-scrooge-s-nephew-you-don-t-mean-that-i/)

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> [Sensitive, humbug. Everybody thinks I'm sensitive. Wait until they hear my new album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-king/sensitive-humbug-everybody-thinks-i-m-sensitive-wait-until-they-hear/)

[Carole King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-king/)

> [It boils down to this: we should have done with humbug, and let war be war, and not a game ... If there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-boils-down-to-this-we-should-have-done-with-humbug-and-let-war-be/)

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> [ \[You write out of the\] desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, etc., etc., etc. It is humbug… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-write-out-of-the-desire-to-seem-clever-to-be-talked-about-to-be/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/witchcraft-is-one-of-the-most-baseless-absurd-disgusting-and-silly-of/)

[P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/)

> [In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism and skepticism and humbug and we shall want to live more musically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/in-the-end-we-shall-have-had-enough-of-cynicism-and-skepticism-and/)

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> [I am prepared to maintain that Honesty is essentially an anarchistic and disintegrating force in society, that communities are held together and the progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/i-am-prepared-to-maintain-that-honesty-is-essentially-an-anarchistic/)

[H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/)

> [I would, like any other scientist, willingly change my mind if the evidence led me to do so. So I care about what's true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-would-like-any-other-scientist-willingly-change-my-mind-if-the/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [The bigger the humbug, the better people will like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/the-bigger-the-humbug-the-better-people-will-like-it/)

[P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/)

> [I am glad that the country world...retains a power to use our English tongue. It is a part of its sense of reality, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-beston/i-am-glad-that-the-country-world-retains-a-power-to-use-our-english/)

[Henry Beston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-beston/)

> [“Bah," said Scrooge, "Humbug.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/bah-said-scrooge-humbug/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

Browse all 78 Humbug quotes

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