--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [On Dashiell Hammett:] ... he is so…" description: "\"[On Dashiell Hammett:] ... he is so hard-boiled you could roll him on the White House lawn.\" — Dorothy Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e36/dorothy-parker-700_hard_on-dashiell-hammett-he-is-so-hard-boiled_2017062.jpg" --- # \[On Dashiell Hammett:\] ... he is so hard-boiled you could… ![“[On Dashiell Hammett:] ... he is so hard-boiled you could roll him on the White House lawn.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e36/dorothy-parker-700_hard_on-dashiell-hammett-he-is-so-hard-boiled_2017062.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e36/dorothy-parker-700_hard_on-dashiell-hammett-he-is-so-hard-boiled_2017062.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e36/dorothy-parker-700_hard_on-dashiell-hammett-he-is-so-hard-boiled_2017062.jpg) > “\[On Dashiell Hammett:\] ... he is so hard-boiled you could roll him on the White House lawn.” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote humorously exaggerates a person's toughness, comparing them to a hard-boiled object that could be rolled on a lawn. **In simple terms:** Exaggerates someone's toughness. Key Takeaway Recognize hyperbole in describing resilience. Themes humor exaggeration character Mood playful ironic Type satirical commentary When to use this quote - political commentary - literary criticism - casual conversation Key Concepts hyperbole satire Questions to Reflect On - What does “hard‑boiled” suggest about the subject? - How does humor affect perception of toughness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Mystery novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-novels/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) ## Related quotes > [I try to be a hard boiled sometimes. My kids see right through it. I'm acting. It's always, 'When I say you'll be back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-try-to-be-a-hard-boiled-sometimes-my-kids-see-right-through-it-i-m/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Most hard-boiled people are half-baked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-mizner/most-hard-boiled-people-are-half-baked/) [Wilson Mizner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-mizner/) > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“Thanks to Dashiell Hammett. "He was thin, walked with a stick, and was the only private dick I knew who used the pockets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekooning/thanks-to-dashiell-hammett-he-was-thin-walked-with-a-stick-and-was/) Thomas deKooning > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Hammett gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse; and with the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-gave-murder-back-to-the-kind-of-people-that-commit-it-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [I love Hammett, never liked Chandler - I'm one of the few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/i-love-hammett-never-liked-chandler-i-m-one-of-the-few/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [When I made 'Hard Boiled,' I had no idea that it would be released to an international audience. I just wanted to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woo/when-i-made-hard-boiled-i-had-no-idea-that-it-would-be-released-to-an/) [John Woo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woo/) > [The Next Right Thing has humanity, humor, and insight to burn. Author Dan Barden takes the clay of the California hard-boiled novel and shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pelecanos/the-next-right-thing-has-humanity-humor-and-insight-to-burn-author/) [George Pelecanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pelecanos/) > [CEREMONY OF FLIES hits the road like a nitrous-fueled GTO...and then pulls the ultimate stunt of getting better. What starts as a deceptively simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-morton/ceremony-of-flies-hits-the-road-like-a-nitrous-fueled-gto-and-then/) [Lisa Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-morton/) > ['Hard Boiled' is my last film in Hong Kong, before I moved to the U.S. It is the one film which is most accepted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woo/hard-boiled-is-my-last-film-in-hong-kong-before-i-moved-to-the-u-s-it/) [John Woo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woo/) > [I met a lot of hard-boiled eggs in my life, but you - you're twenty minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/i-met-a-lot-of-hard-boiled-eggs-in-my-life-but-you-you-re-twenty/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) > [ Undoubtedly the stories about them \[hard-boiled detectives\] had a fantastic element. Such things happened, but not so rapidly, nor to so close-knit a group… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/undoubtedly-the-stories-about-them-hard-boiled-detectives-had-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“You always had an eye for the fellow with a decent helping of sausage and hard-boiled eggs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/you-always-had-an-eye-for-the-fellow-with-a-decent-helping-of-sausage/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [I am addicted to poetry, but the truth is I cannot pass up a good hard-boiled mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-am-addicted-to-poetry-but-the-truth-is-i-cannot-pass-up-a-good-hard/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Hard quotes > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is hard to admit to someone that you love him..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misherie/it-is-hard-to-admit-to-someone-that-you-love-him/) [Misherie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misherie/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [There Was Many Time I Had Wanted To Give Up In Life On So Many Things…But Naw F\*\*\* That...I'm Not Going To Never Give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/out-spoken/there-was-many-time-i-had-wanted-to-give-up-in-life-on-so-many-things/) Out Spoken > [I think you can get, as a player, stuck in the mindset of trying too hard to prove yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-rodman/i-think-you-can-get-as-a-player-stuck-in-the-mindset-of-trying-too/) [Trinity Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-rodman/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [High school, going into my junior year, I kind of had the idea I was going to be the starting running back. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saquon-barkley/high-school-going-into-my-junior-year-i-kind-of-had-the-idea-i-was/) [Saquon Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saquon-barkley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. 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