--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now I pass up about twenty-five or thirty…" description: "\"“Now I pass up about twenty-five or thirty thousand of honest gain because I like being a detective, like the work. And liking work makes you want to d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/dashiell-hammett-3863_pulp-fiction_now-i-pass-up-about-twenty-five-or-thirt_632918.png" --- # Now I pass up about twenty-five or thirty thousand of… ![“Now I pass up about twenty-five or thirty thousand of honest gain because I like being a detective, like the work. And liking work makes you want to do it as well as you can. Otherwise there’d be no sense to it. That’s the fix I am in. I don’t know anything else, don’t enjoy anything else, don’t…” quote by Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/dashiell-hammett-3863_pulp-fiction_now-i-pass-up-about-twenty-five-or-thirt_632918.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/dashiell-hammett-3863_pulp-fiction_now-i-pass-up-about-twenty-five-or-thirt_632918.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/dashiell-hammett-3863_pulp-fiction_now-i-pass-up-about-twenty-five-or-thirt_632918.png) > ““Now I pass up about twenty-five or thirty thousand of honest gain because I like being a detective, like the work. And liking work makes you want to do it as well as you can. Otherwise there’d be no sense to it. That’s the fix I am in. I don’t know anything else, don’t enjoy anything else, don’t want to know or enjoy anything else. You can’t weight that against any sum of money. Money’s good stuff. I haven’t anything against it.”” [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He values the satisfaction of detective work over large sums of money, finding purpose in the craft itself. **In simple terms:** Work passion outweighs money. Key Takeaway Choose work you love over higher pay. Themes purpose work passion values money Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choice - financial decisions - personal fulfillment Key Concepts detective work intrinsic motivation career satisfaction Questions to Reflect On - What would you sacrifice for a job you love? - How do you measure success beyond earnings? A Different Perspective Money cannot replace intrinsic satisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pulp fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulp-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [The fact that the audience is liking my work gives a lot of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanishk-bagchi/the-fact-that-the-audience-is-liking-my-work-gives-a-lot-of/) [Tanishk Bagchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanishk-bagchi/) > [What's good about many people liking the work is that when I want to collaborate or am interested in the synergy of artists working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/what-s-good-about-many-people-liking-the-work-is-that-when-i-want-to/) [Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/) > [Many art-worlders have an if-you-say-so approach to art: Everyone is so scared of missing out on the next hot artist that it's never clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/many-art-worlders-have-an-if-you-say-so-approach-to-art-everyone-is/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [While I hope that people like my work, I don't think an artist should be afraid of ­people not liking his work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/badshah/while-i-hope-that-people-like-my-work-i-don-t-think-an-artist-should/) [Badshah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/badshah/) > [What is important for me is that people are liking my movies, I am liking my work, for which I am very happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/what-is-important-for-me-is-that-people-are-liking-my-movies-i-am/) [Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/) > [“Take work as a game and enjoy it. Everything is a challenge. Just don’t go on doing it, dragging yourself because it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/take-work-as-a-game-and-enjoy-it-everything-is-a-challenge-just-don-t/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [As a remedy against all ills - poverty, sickness, and melancholy - only one thing is absolutely necessary: a liking for work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/as-a-remedy-against-all-ills-poverty-sickness-and-melancholy-only-one/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [You get to crack the code of the play. You get to really pick at it and see, 'What is the story that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillipa-soo/you-get-to-crack-the-code-of-the-play-you-get-to-really-pick-at-it/) [Phillipa Soo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillipa-soo/) > [I think like a detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-think-like-a-detective/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [If you think about it, the historian's task is like that of the detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-herbert-donald/if-you-think-about-it-the-historian-s-task-is-like-that-of-the/) [David Herbert Donald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-herbert-donald/) > [I don’t think I would ever want to be a writer of detective stories - but I would like to be a detective and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lavin/i-don-t-think-i-would-ever-want-to-be-a-writer-of-detective-stories/) Mary Lavin > [“I'd like to give these detective story writers a course of routine work. They'd soon learn how most things are untraceable and nobody ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-d-like-to-give-these-detective-story-writers-a-course-of-routine/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Delving into history is not an escape for me. I'm like a detective, sniffing for clues with a terrier-like excitement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/delving-into-history-is-not-an-escape-for-me-i-m-like-a-detective/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [It's no secret - I love detective fiction. One of the reasons I love being in London is because I like to watch all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/it-s-no-secret-i-love-detective-fiction-one-of-the-reasons-i-love/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Be like a detective. See what’s going on around you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/be-like-a-detective-see-what-s-going-on-around-you/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) ## More by Dashiell Hammett > [It's sometimes better to pretend I don't hear the sound of somebody in the nearby woods with a shotgun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/it-s-sometimes-better-to-pretend-i-don-t-hear-the-sound-of-somebody/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [“This damned burg's getting me. If I don't get away soon I'll be going blood-simple like the natives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/this-damned-burg-s-getting-me-if-i-don-t-get-away-soon-i-ll-be-going/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [“You know Quinn?" Macaulay asked me. "Ten minutes ago I was putting him to bed." Macaulay grinned. "I hope you keep his acquaintance like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/you-know-quinn-macaulay-asked-me-ten-minutes-ago-i-was-putting-him-to/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [“Gutman smiled benignly at him and said: “Well, Wilmer, I’m sorry indeed to lose you, and I want you to know that I couldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/gutman-smiled-benignly-at-him-and-said-well-wilmer-i-m-sorry-indeed/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [“...I guess I can put two and two together." "Sometimes the answer's four," I said, "and sometimes it's twenty-two...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/i-guess-i-can-put-two-and-two-together-sometimes-the-answer-s-four-i/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Nora: "How do you feel?" Nick: "Terrible. I must've gone to bed sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/nora-how-do-you-feel-nick-terrible-i-must-ve-gone-to-bed-sober/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [A lot of fancier yarns come from people trying to tell the truth. It’s not easy once you’re out of the habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/a-lot-of-fancier-yarns-come-from-people-trying-to-tell-the-truth-it-s/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Three times I have been mistaken for a prohibition agent, but never had any trouble clearing myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/three-times-i-have-been-mistaken-for-a-prohibition-agent-but-never/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Listen, Dundy, it's been a long time since I burst into tears because a policeman didn't like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/listen-dundy-it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-burst-into-tears-because-a/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [“...What do people think about my staying with Harrison with him chasing everything that's hot and hollow?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/what-do-people-think-about-my-staying-with-harrison-with-him-chasing/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [“Don't be so damned patronizing. Your performance so far has been a little less than dazzling." "I didn't mean no harm," I said and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/don-t-be-so-damned-patronizing-your-performance-so-far-has-been-a/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [...What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not into step, with Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/what-disturbed-him-was-the-discovery-that-in-sensibly-ordering-his/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [I haven't any sort of plans for the future but I reckon things will work out in some manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/i-haven-t-any-sort-of-plans-for-the-future-but-i-reckon-things-will/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/to-get-what-he-wanted-a-man-had-to-give-other-people-what-they-wanted/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him see the works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/he-felt-like-somebody-had-taken-the-lid-off-life-and-let-him-see-the/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) [Explore all 119 Dashiell Hammett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) ## More Pulp fiction quotes > [“...what distinguishes pulp fiction from great literature is how emphatically the work challenges us to interpret it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-meyer/what-distinguishes-pulp-fiction-from-great-literature-is-how/) Bruce Meyer > [As a movie fan, I remember Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender and the sort of energy around 'Reservoir Dogs,' and the jump from 'Reservoir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/as-a-movie-fan-i-remember-quentin-tarantino-and-lawrence-bender-and/) [Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/) > [“Havens turned again. Someone else passed between the trucks. That someone walked with less purpose than the other workers near the stalls. To Havens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-patten/havens-turned-again-someone-else-passed-between-the-trucks-that/) J.T. Patten > [“Here's a thought. You answer what I ask and I keep not killing you." - Antiope Flint - DREAMNASIUM”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-thorne/here-s-a-thought-you-answer-what-i-ask-and-i-keep-not-killing-you/) Geoffrey Thorne > [“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-instruction-here-is-not-for-every-kind-of-writer-not-for-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“The search party became zombie silhouettes in shafts of early-morning light, yawning, despondent, and halfway home when a boy’s scream pierced the fog—“OVER HERE!”—and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-vander-ark-2/the-search-party-became-zombie-silhouettes-in-shafts-of-early-morning/) [Jake Vander-Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-vander-ark-2/) > [ It remains a mystery to me why some of that \[pulp\] fiction should be judged inferior to the rafts and rafts of bad social… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/it-remains-a-mystery-to-me-why-some-of-that-pulp-fiction-should-be/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [I think, for sure, 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Pulp Fiction' were kind of bookends for - or the pillars of - my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-travolta/i-think-for-sure-saturday-night-fever-and-pulp-fiction-were-kind-of/) [John Travolta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-travolta/) > [“The feeling was FEAR, she realized... but it was a new type of fear; more sincere than the jitters she felt when it rained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-vander-ark-2/the-feeling-was-fear-she-realized-but-it-was-a-new-type-of-fear-more/) [Jake Vander-Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-vander-ark-2/) > [“When one looks back across a chasm of seventy years, through a prism of pulp fiction and bad gangster movies, there is a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/when-one-looks-back-across-a-chasm-of-seventy-years-through-a-prism/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [“The whirlwind in his brain—which had so many times tugged his pituitary in ways that made him TAKE instead of GIVE— subsided for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-vander-ark-2/the-whirlwind-in-his-brain-which-had-so-many-times-tugged-his/) [Jake Vander-Ark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-vander-ark-2/) > [Pulp Fiction's insane. I haven't watched it in so long because there was a time where I would watch it like 30 times in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/pulp-fiction-s-insane-i-haven-t-watched-it-in-so-long-because-there/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“If people were paid for writing rot such as I read in some of those magazines that I could write stories just as rotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/if-people-were-paid-for-writing-rot-such-as-i-read-in-some-of-those/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I can't get enough of 'Pulp Fiction.' I just love it; it still holds up. And it didn't win Best Picture, by the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-olyphant/i-can-t-get-enough-of-pulp-fiction-i-just-love-it-it-still-holds-up/) [Timothy Olyphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-olyphant/) [Browse all 83 Pulp fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulp-fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now I pass up about twenty-five or thirty thousand of honest gain because I like being a detective, like the work. And liking work makes you want to do it as well as you can. Otherwise there’d be no sense to it. That’s the fix I am in. I don’t know anything else, don’t enjoy anything else, don’t want to know or enjoy anything else. You can’t weight that against any sum of money. Money’s good stuff. 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