--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They can't give a Nobel to someone who's…" description: "\"They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now before I popped off.\" — Doris Le..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png" --- # They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think… ![“They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now before I popped off.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png) > “They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now before I popped off.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker mocks the Nobel Committee's rule against posthumous awards, implying they should preemptively honor the living before they die. **In simple terms:** Satirical critique of award timing Key Takeaway Awards are limited by arbitrary rules Themes satire institutional critique mortality ego legacy Mood ironic wry critical Type satire commentary humor When to use this quote - award ceremonies - career retrospectives - public speeches - media interviews Key Concepts award policies posthumous recognition self-promotion Practical Applications - highlighting policy absurdities - provoking discussion on legacy Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about the value we place on awards? - How do timing constraints affect recognition? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Dead Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-think-941220/) [Give](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/give/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel/) [Nobel Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-dead-941218/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off/) [Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably/) [Probably Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-thinking-941219/) [Someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/someone/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-probably-326569/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) ## Related quotes > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“I love you every bit as much as you think i do...probably more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlen-aymes/i-love-you-every-bit-as-much-as-you-think-i-do-probably-more/) [Kahlen Aymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlen-aymes/) > [I think I am probably a lot like my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-think-i-am-probably-a-lot-like-my-father/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [If you’ve got to think about it you probably shouldn’t do it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-carillo/if-you-ve-got-to-think-about-it-you-probably-shouldn-t-do-it/) [Mary Carillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-carillo/) > [I think I'm probably more of a saver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-reid/i-think-i-m-probably-more-of-a-saver/) [Noah Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-reid/) > [Whatever age you think I am, you're probably right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-ray/whatever-age-you-think-i-am-you-re-probably-right/) [Vanessa Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-ray/) > [Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're probably right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mulfat/whether-you-think-you-can-or-think-you-can-t-you-re-probably-right/) [Mulfat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mulfat/) > [“If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leaderhip/if-you-think-you-can-or-you-think-you-can-t-you-re-probably-right/) [Leaderhip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leaderhip/) > [I think I probably would have gone into stand-up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-snodgrass/i-think-i-probably-would-have-gone-into-stand-up/) [Robert Snodgrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-snodgrass/) > [“The most time consuming process in the world is probably "thinking".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/the-most-time-consuming-process-in-the-world-is-probably-thinking/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [If you're not a hater you're probably not thinking hard enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-you-re-not-a-hater-you-re-probably-not-thinking-hard-enough/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I just try not to think too much about how I'm perceived. I think as long as I'm still selling tickets and can pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tig-notaro/i-just-try-not-to-think-too-much-about-how-i-m-perceived-i-think-as/) [Tig Notaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tig-notaro/) > [When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-people-you-greatly-admire-appear-to-be-thinking-deep-thoughts/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“I can guess what you think about her, and I’d probably be thinking the same thing if I was standing where you are. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-can-guess-what-you-think-about-her-and-i-d-probably-be-thinking-the/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I have ideas that I will probably never write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-have-ideas-that-i-will-probably-never-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. 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I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Living in a small town anywhere means preserving one's self behind a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/living-in-a-small-town-anywhere-means-preserving-one-s-self-behind-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Before quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [For the Russian masses, the proletarians, knew for certain, and already saw during the war, and in part before their very eyes, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-gorter/for-the-russian-masses-the-proletarians-knew-for-certain-and-already/) [Herman Gorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-gorter/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. 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Now I think my limo driver hates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/you-know-before-i-would-think-my-cab-driver-hates-me-now-i-think-my/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) [Browse all 4,123 Before quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now before I popped off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Doris Lessing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Before" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/doris-lessing-501_before_they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s_71808.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it…” — Doris Lessing", "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": "Doris Lessing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They can't give a Nobel to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/#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 } } ] } ```