--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We call a thing big or little with…" description: "\"We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is wont to be, as we speak of a small elephant or a big rat.\" — D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png" --- # We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is… ![“We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is wont to be, as we speak of a small elephant or a big rat.” quote by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png) > “We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is wont to be, as we speak of a small elephant or a big rat.” [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Things are judged big or small relative to their typical size, not absolute measures. **In simple terms:** Size is relative to normal expectations. Key Takeaway Assess objects by their usual scale. Themes perception relativity context Mood analytical thoughtful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - education - design - communication - marketing Key Concepts comparative measurement norms Questions to Reflect On - How do you determine what is 'normal' for a new concept? - When might relative size perception cause error? A Different Perspective Relative judgments can mislead when norms are unknown. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) ## Related quotes > [The bullet that kill an elephant is not as big as the elephant itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-duke/the-bullet-that-kill-an-elephant-is-not-as-big-as-the-elephant-itself/) Joseph Duke > [The two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a big fat white guy who is threatened by change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-macfarlane/the-two-symbols-of-the-republican-party-an-elephant-and-a-big-fat/) [Seth MacFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-macfarlane/) > [Every thing I do I do it big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/every-thing-i-do-i-do-it-big/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [If you don't have one thing, what's the big deal? Not everybody has everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neena-gupta/if-you-don-t-have-one-thing-what-s-the-big-deal-not-everybody-has/) [Neena Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neena-gupta/) > [It is so much better to make a big thing out of a little subject than to make a little thing out of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-webster-hawthorne/it-is-so-much-better-to-make-a-big-thing-out-of-a-little-subject-than/) [Charles Webster Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-webster-hawthorne/) > [Every thing big starts with something small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yohan/every-thing-big-starts-with-something-small/) Yohan > [Whoever is in a hurry shows that the thing he is about is too big for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whoever-is-in-a-hurry-shows-that-the-thing-he-is-about-is-too-big-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many of us on the project were thinking if we ever saw a gravitational wave, it'd be an itsy bitsy little tiny thing; we'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/many-of-us-on-the-project-were-thinking-if-we-ever-saw-a/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [I think it's a fairly well-known thing about me that I'm a big nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-bauer/i-think-it-s-a-fairly-well-known-thing-about-me-that-i-m-a-big-nerd/) [Trevor Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-bauer/) > [There is always the next big thing, the next big skater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-gold/there-is-always-the-next-big-thing-the-next-big-skater/) [Gracie Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-gold/) > [One little thing, may be something big for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-huang/one-little-thing-may-be-something-big-for-others/) [Edward Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-huang/) > [For you its just a small thing, but for me it's a big thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-alapan/for-you-its-just-a-small-thing-but-for-me-it-s-a-big-thing/) [Mitch Alapan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-alapan/) > [“That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough, it was more like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kentaro-miura/that-thing-was-too-big-to-be-called-a-sword-too-big-too-thick-too/) [Kentaro Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kentaro-miura/) > [Big when I was little, like Malcom in the middle, it was big when I was little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-doolittle/big-when-i-was-little-like-malcom-in-the-middle-it-was-big-when-i-was/) [Eliza Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-doolittle/) > [The thing about Big Tymers was if they said they had it, they had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mannie-fresh/the-thing-about-big-tymers-was-if-they-said-they-had-it-they-had-it/) [Mannie Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mannie-fresh/) ## More by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson > [Cell and tissue, shell and bone, leaf and flower, are so many portions of matter, and it is in obedience to the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/cell-and-tissue-shell-and-bone-leaf-and-flower-are-so-many-portions/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [The harmony of the world is made manifest in Form and Number, and the heart and soul and all the poetry of Natural Philosophy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/the-harmony-of-the-world-is-made-manifest-in-form-and-number-and-the/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [Numerical precision is the very soul of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [“…numerical precision is the very soul of science, and its attainment affords the best, perhaps the only criterion of the truth of theories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/numerical-precision-is-the-very-soul-of-science-and-its-attainment/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [Sagging wrinkles, hanging breasts and many another sign of age are part of gravitation's slow relentless handiwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/sagging-wrinkles-hanging-breasts-and-many-another-sign-of-age-are/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [It is success that colours all in life, Success makes fools admir'd, makes villains honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/it-is-success-that-colours-all-in-life-success-makes-fools-admir-d/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) > [The perfection of mathematical beauty is such...that whatsoever is most beautiful and regular is also found to be most useful and excellent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/the-perfection-of-mathematical-beauty-is-such-that-whatsoever-is-most/) [D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) [Explore all 8 D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is wont to be, as we speak of a small elephant or a big rat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-reference-to-what-it-is-wont-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-reference-to-what-it-is-wont-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e39/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson-4656_bigs_we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-refer_565261.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We call a thing big or little with reference to what it is wont to be, as we speak of a small elephant or a…” — D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson", "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": "D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We call a thing big or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-reference-to-what-it-is-wont-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-arcy-wentworth-thompson/we-call-a-thing-big-or-little-with-reference-to-what-it-is-wont-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```