--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I use the chopsticks to outline the…" description: "\"“I use the chopsticks to outline the biggest heart possible. Then I use the Sweet'N Low packets to fill it in. I borrow some from two other tables when..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg" --- # I use the chopsticks to outline the biggest heart… ![“I use the chopsticks to outline the biggest heart possible. Then I use the Sweet'N Low packets to fill it in. I borrow some from two other tables when I run out. When I'm done, I point to the heart on the table. "This," I say, "is only about one ninety-millionth of how I feel about you." She…” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg) > ““I use the chopsticks to outline the biggest heart possible. Then I use the Sweet'N Low packets to fill it in. I borrow some from two other tables when I run out. When I'm done, I point to the heart on the table. "This," I say, "is only about one ninety-millionth of how I feel about you." She laughs. "I'll try not to take it personally," she says. "Take what personally?" I say. "You should take it very personally." "The fact that you used artificial sweetener?" I take a Sweet'N Low and fling it at her. "Not everything is a symbol!" I shout.”” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using playful symbols to express love can be humorous but may also risk miscommunication. **In simple terms:** Playful gestures can convey deep feelings, but clarity matters. Key Takeaway Balance humor with sincere expression. Themes love humor communication creativity vulnerability Mood lighthearted thoughtful Type conversational inspirational When to use this quote - dating - friendship - creative writing - gift giving - public displays of affection Key Concepts literature psychology social interaction Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure playful gestures are understood? - When is humor appropriate in expressing affection? A Different Perspective Humor may be misread, leading to confusion or hurt feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Chopsticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chopsticks/) [Chopsticks Outline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chopsticks-outline-238894/) [Hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearts/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Symbol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbol/) [Table Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/table-say-238895/) [Use Chopsticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-chopsticks-238892/) [Use Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-sweet-238893/) ## Related quotes > [“This country try to take everything from you. Your language, your food, your children. Learn how to use chopsticks. This country can't have everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-yoon/this-country-try-to-take-everything-from-you-your-language-your-food/) [Nicola Yoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-yoon/) > [“Though I can and sometimes do use chopsticks, I much prefer using my hands to pee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/though-i-can-and-sometimes-do-use-chopsticks-i-much-prefer-using-my/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I would frankly be shocked if Donald Trump even knows how to use chopsticks or is even able to manipulate them with those tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/i-would-frankly-be-shocked-if-donald-trump-even-knows-how-to-use/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [I don't want to get burned when I'm cooking. To avoid getting hit when pan-frying, I stand far away and use chopsticks that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-huang/i-don-t-want-to-get-burned-when-i-m-cooking-to-avoid-getting-hit-when/) [Eddie Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-huang/) > [I have to have a seat at the table. I have to have a say on how we, as African-Americans, are produced and depicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-allen/i-have-to-have-a-seat-at-the-table-i-have-to-have-a-say-on-how-we-as/) [Byron Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-allen/) > [My husband was very special and very funny and outspoken, and he would have a black and blue every so often because under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-danner/my-husband-was-very-special-and-very-funny-and-outspoken-and-he-would/) [Blythe Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-danner/) > [ Most of \[ the Negro leaders\] who - who, whose existence or whose position of leadership depends upon the - on the subsidy or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/most-of-the-negro-leaders-who-who-whose-existence-or-whose-position/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“No!” Moist's fist thumped the table. “Never say that, Tolliver! Never! Run before you walk! Fly before you crawl! Keep moving forward!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/no-moist-s-fist-thumped-the-table-never-say-that-tolliver-never-run/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“I’m not sure who started it, but whoever had the most exhausting day would lay a hand in the center of the table and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/i-m-not-sure-who-started-it-but-whoever-had-the-most-exhausting-day/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [“I enrage myself with an imbecile. I say, 'I would like to kick him.' Instead I kick the table. I say, 'This table, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-enrage-myself-with-an-imbecile-i-say-i-would-like-to-kick-him/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“1. "Ahem. I know you hate Mondays, madam, but you picked the absolutely wrong one to play hooky. Or be sick. Yes, I suppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/1-ahem-i-know-you-hate-mondays-madam-but-you-picked-the-absolutely/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [All too frequently the amateur will purchase a fine modern camera and proceed to use it for making the most elementary simple snapshots. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-haskins/all-too-frequently-the-amateur-will-purchase-a-fine-modern-camera-and/) [Sam Haskins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-haskins/) > [I joke that I came out of my mother with chopsticks in my hands. But one of my earliest memories is of my dad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gok-wan/i-joke-that-i-came-out-of-my-mother-with-chopsticks-in-my-hands-but/) [Gok Wan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gok-wan/) > [I started out playing 'Chopsticks.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-russell/i-started-out-playing-chopsticks/) [Leon Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-russell/) > [I bought a piano once because I had the dream of playing As Time Goes By as some girl's leaning on it drinking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-bought-a-piano-once-because-i-had-the-dream-of-playing-as-time-goes/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I use the chopsticks to outline the biggest heart possible. Then I use the Sweet'N Low packets to fill it in. I borrow some from two other tables when I run out. When I'm done, I point to the heart on the table. \"This,\" I say, \"is only about one ninety-millionth of how I feel about you.\" She laughs. \"I'll try not to take it personally,\" she says. \"Take what personally?\" I say. \"You should take it very personally.\" \"The fact that you used artificial sweetener?\" I take a Sweet'N Low and fling it at her. \"Not everything is a symbol!\" I shout.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Levithan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-biggest-heart-possible-then-i-use/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-biggest-heart-possible-then-i-use/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-levithan-67_affection_i-use-the-chopsticks-to-outline-the-bigg_1618592.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I use the chopsticks to outline the biggest heart possible. 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