---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great boast, small roast."
description: "\"Great boast, small roast.\" — Chinese Proverb"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg"
---

#  Great boast, small roast.

![“Great boast, small roast.” quote by Chinese Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg)

> “Great boast, small roast.”

Chinese Proverb

## About This Quote

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

A concise way of saying that boasting often leads to being mocked or humbled.

**In simple terms:** Boasting invites criticism.

Key Takeaway

Speak modestly to avoid ridicule.

Themes

pride humility social interaction communication

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- public speaking
- social media posts
- team meetings

Key Concepts

boasting reversal humor

Questions to Reflect On

- When does confidence become arrogance?
- How can humility improve relationships?

A Different Perspective

Excessive pride can damage reputation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Boast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boast/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/)

## Related quotes

> [Boasts are wind and deeds are hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/boasts-are-wind-and-deeds-are-hard/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [It will be an ill day when our brethren take to bragging and boasting and call it 'testimony to the victorious Christian life.' We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/it-will-be-an-ill-day-when-our-brethren-take-to-bragging-and-boasting/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [Only one man has the right to boast, and that's the man who never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/only-one-man-has-the-right-to-boast-and-that-s-the-man-who-never-does/)

[Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/)

> [Who knows himself a braggart, Let him fear this; for it will come to pass That every braggart will be found an ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/who-knows-himself-a-braggart-let-him-fear-this-for-it-will-come-to/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Boasting is one of those rare outfits that never looks good on you but makes you look stunning when modeled by your admirers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/boasting-is-one-of-those-rare-outfits-that-never-looks-good-on-you/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [I remember rap music. We used to party and dance off of it. Today it's all about a whole different angle... Rappers are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavor-flav/i-remember-rap-music-we-used-to-party-and-dance-off-of-it-today-it-s/)

[Flavor Flav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flavor-flav/)

> [“I can arrogantly brag that the doors I choose in life open wide and grant me unobstructed passage. But the widest doors tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-can-arrogantly-brag-that-the-doors-i-choose-in-life-open-wide-and/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [When you roast yourself, it makes everybody else comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle/when-you-roast-yourself-it-makes-everybody-else-comfortable/)

[Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle/)

> [You don't want roast beef and Yorkshire every night and twice on Sunday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-clough/you-don-t-want-roast-beef-and-yorkshire-every-night-and-twice-on/)

[Brian Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-clough/)

> [“Imagine… There’s a roast goose in Hong Kong—Mongkok, near the outskirts of the city, the place looks like any other. But you sink your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/imagine-there-s-a-roast-goose-in-hong-kong-mongkok-near-the-outskirts/)

[Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/)

> [“Will Peter be joining us for tea, do you think?' 'I doubt it. Peter rarely returns home before late in the evening.' 'Oh.' Quill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/will-peter-be-joining-us-for-tea-do-you-think-i-doubt-it-peter-rarely/)

[Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/)

> [I make a good roast chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-make-a-good-roast-chicken/)

[Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/)

> [Let's be honest, we all love a roast, but Sunday lunch could be a huge plate of salade nicoise; it could be eggs benedict;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-torode/let-s-be-honest-we-all-love-a-roast-but-sunday-lunch-could-be-a-huge/)

[John Torode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-torode/)

> [The chickens have come home to roast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ace/the-chickens-have-come-home-to-roast/)

[Jane Ace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ace/)

> [I'm a fan of a big roast or a bolognese, but I also love baking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-lowe/i-m-a-fan-of-a-big-roast-or-a-bolognese-but-i-also-love-baking/)

[Daisy Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-lowe/)

## More by Chinese Proverb

> [Man is the head of the family, woman the neck that turns the head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/man-is-the-head-of-the-family-woman-the-neck-that-turns-the-head/)

Chinese Proverb

> [Neither fortunes nor flowers last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/neither-fortunes-nor-flowers-last-forever/)

Chinese Proverb

> [Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/do-not-confine-your-children-to-your-own-learning-for-they-were-born/)

Chinese Proverb

> [One step at a time is good walking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/one-step-at-a-time-is-good-walking/)

Chinese Proverb

> [Never do anything standing that you can do sitting, or anything sitting that you can do lying down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/never-do-anything-standing-that-you-can-do-sitting-or-anything/)

Chinese Proverb

> [One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/one-dog-barks-at-something-the-rest-bark-at-him/)

Chinese Proverb

> [The lotus root breaks but fibers remain connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/the-lotus-root-breaks-but-fibers-remain-connected/)

Chinese Proverb

> [A careful foot can step anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/a-careful-foot-can-step-anywhere/)

Chinese Proverb

> [If you suspect a man, don't employ him, and if you employ him, don't suspect him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/if-you-suspect-a-man-don-t-employ-him-and-if-you-employ-him-don-t/)

Chinese Proverb

> [To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/to-attract-good-fortune-spend-a-new-coin-on-an-old-friend-share-an/)

Chinese Proverb

> [Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in mens clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/those-who-do-not-study-are-only-cattle-dressed-up-in-mens-clothes/)

Chinese Proverb

> [The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/the-miracle-is-not-to-fly-in-the-air-or-to-walk-on-the-water-but-to/)

Chinese Proverb

> [Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/great-souls-have-wills-feeble-ones-have-only-wishes/)

Chinese Proverb

> [To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/to-get-through-the-hardest-journey-we-need-take-only-one-step-at-a/)

Chinese Proverb

> [The superior doctor prevents sickness; The mediocre doctor attends to impending sickness; The inferior doctor treats actual sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/the-superior-doctor-prevents-sickness-the-mediocre-doctor-attends-to/)

Chinese Proverb

Explore all 60 Chinese Proverb quotes

## More Boast quotes

> [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/)

[Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/)

> [Win without boasting. Lose without excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-payson-terhune/win-without-boasting-lose-without-excuse/)

[Albert Payson Terhune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-payson-terhune/)

> [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/)

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

> [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [“In general, poor is polite and rich is rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-general-poor-is-polite-and-rich-is-rude/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [“in other words, his story was part boast, part confession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mezrich/in-other-words-his-story-was-part-boast-part-confession/)

[Ben Mezrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mezrich/)

> [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [Boast is always a cry of despair, except in the young it is a cry of hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/boast-is-always-a-cry-of-despair-except-in-the-young-it-is-a-cry-of/)

[Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/)

> [“A classic is read not to enjoy but only to be boast about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aman-jassal/a-classic-is-read-not-to-enjoy-but-only-to-be-boast-about-it/)

[Aman Jassal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aman-jassal/)

> [Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that-our-fleet-would-be-worn-out/)

[Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/)

> [Wisdom can boast no higher attainment than happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/wisdom-can-boast-no-higher-attainment-than-happiness/)

[Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/)

> [But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy, Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great: Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-thou-art-fair-and-at-thy-birth-dear-boy-nature-and-fortune-join-d/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Science appears but what in truth she is, Not as our glory and our absolute boast, But as a succedaneum, and a prop To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/science-appears-but-what-in-truth-she-is-not-as-our-glory-and-our/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [It has, therefore, been a favorite boast of the people of Wales and Cornwall, that the original British stock flourishes in its unmixed purity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bulfinch/it-has-therefore-been-a-favorite-boast-of-the-people-of-wales-and/)

[Thomas Bulfinch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bulfinch/)

> [Boasting is only a masked shame; it does not truly believe in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/boasting-is-only-a-masked-shame-it-does-not-truly-believe-in-itself/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

[Browse all 567 Boast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boast/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Great boast, small roast.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Chinese Proverb"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/great-boast-small-roast/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Boast"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/great-boast-small-roast/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/chinese-proverb-11341_bragging_great-boast-small-roast-1395584_1395584.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Great boast, small roast.” — Chinese Proverb",
                "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": "Chinese Proverb",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverb/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Great boast, small roast.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/great-boast-small-roast/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/great-boast-small-roast/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
