--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A bad habit or two is good for a man or a…" description: "\"“A bad habit or two is good for a man or a beast. Did you ever know a man who didn't have any bad habits? I have, and I always hated the son of a bitch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/elmer-kelton-50456_bad-habit_a-bad-habit-or-two-is-good-for-a-man-or_841052.jpg" --- # A bad habit or two is good for a man or a beast. Did you… ![“A bad habit or two is good for a man or a beast. Did you ever know a man who didn't have any bad habits? I have, and I always hated the son of a bitch." -- Charlie Flagg” quote by Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/elmer-kelton-50456_bad-habit_a-bad-habit-or-two-is-good-for-a-man-or_841052.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/elmer-kelton-50456_bad-habit_a-bad-habit-or-two-is-good-for-a-man-or_841052.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/elmer-kelton-50456_bad-habit_a-bad-habit-or-two-is-good-for-a-man-or_841052.jpg) > ““A bad habit or two is good for a man or a beast. Did you ever know a man who didn't have any bad habits? I have, and I always hated the son of a bitch." -- Charlie Flagg”” [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a few bad habits make a person human; they are inevitable and sometimes useful. **In simple terms:** Bad habits are part of being human. Key Takeaway Accept flaws as natural. Themes human nature habits imperfection Mood wry humorous Type literary reflective When to use this quote - personal growth - storytelling - self‑acceptance Key Concepts psychology character development humor Questions to Reflect On - Which habits define you positively? - How do you balance acceptance and change? A Different Perspective Over‑idealizing flawlessness can ignore realistic self‑improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-habit/) [Bad habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-habits/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) ## Related quotes > [There are things we do out of habit that are not always good for us. Break the bad habits and develop some good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirsch/there-are-things-we-do-out-of-habit-that-are-not-always-good-for-us/) [David Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirsch/) > [You'd think that in a fight, NOT MOVING would be a bad habit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/you-d-think-that-in-a-fight-not-moving-would-be-a-bad-habit/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [Movies are one of the bad habits that have corrupted our century. They have slipped into the American mind more misinformation in one evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/movies-are-one-of-the-bad-habits-that-have-corrupted-our-century-they/) [Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/) > [The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits - good and bad. So the key to the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gretzky/the-game-is-played-out-of-instinct-but-everyone-on-the-ice-has-habits/) [Wayne Gretzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gretzky/) > [I don't want to be overdramatic about it, but I'm starting to see a lot of my bad habits get the best of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/i-don-t-want-to-be-overdramatic-about-it-but-i-m-starting-to-see-a/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [Working at home is hard. It tends to give you bad habits. It feels more like you're going to work when you get up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beaton/working-at-home-is-hard-it-tends-to-give-you-bad-habits-it-feels-more/) [Kate Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beaton/) > [I have the same friends and the same bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/i-have-the-same-friends-and-the-same-bad-habits/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [Sometimes it doesn't take much to slip back into bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/didier-deschamps/sometimes-it-doesn-t-take-much-to-slip-back-into-bad-habits/) [Didier Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/didier-deschamps/) > [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“You can do the right thing that seems wrong to others, or the wrong thing that seems right, and its actually puerile to await…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/you-can-do-the-right-thing-that-seems-wrong-to-others-or-the-wrong/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I kind of dropped a lot of bad habits about three years ago and became kind of accidentally straight-edge. I don't have Xs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/i-kind-of-dropped-a-lot-of-bad-habits-about-three-years-ago-and/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [Character is the sum of one's good habits (virtues) and bad habits (vices). These habits mark us and affect the ways in which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lickona/character-is-the-sum-of-one-s-good-habits-virtues-and-bad-habits/) [Thomas Lickona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lickona/) > [All day long the thoughts that occupy your mind, your Secret Place, as Jesus calls it, are moulding your destiny for good or evil;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmet-fox/all-day-long-the-thoughts-that-occupy-your-mind-your-secret-place-as/) [Emmet Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmet-fox/) > [The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. To deny oneself means to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-of-alaska/the-first-duty-of-a-christian-of-a-disciple-and-follower-of-jesus/) Innocent of Alaska ## More by Elmer Kelton > [He liked to think that Heaven was what each person wanted it to be. He could see no future in lying around on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/he-liked-to-think-that-heaven-was-what-each-person-wanted-it-to-be-he/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [I just write whenever I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/i-just-write-whenever-i-can/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [A little honest swearin' wipeth away anger and bringeth peace to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/a-little-honest-swearin-wipeth-away-anger-and-bringeth-peace-to-the/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [“I'll be riding rough horses when you are salted away in a box.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/i-ll-be-riding-rough-horses-when-you-are-salted-away-in-a-box/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/the-time-it-never-rained-was-inspired-by-actual-events-when-the/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [Joaquin Jackson's frank and colorful account of his long career as a modern-day Texas Ranger thrills like an action novel, yet the stories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/joaquin-jackson-s-frank-and-colorful-account-of-his-long-career-as-a/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) [Explore all 7 Elmer Kelton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) ## More Bad habit quotes > [Working at home is hard. It tends to give you bad habits. It feels more like you're going to work when you get up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beaton/working-at-home-is-hard-it-tends-to-give-you-bad-habits-it-feels-more/) [Kate Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beaton/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I’m afraid I don’t suffer petty bureaucrats gladly. A very bad habit, but one I find hard to break. Nevertheless, you will find, Dr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston-lincoln-child-2/i-m-afraid-i-don-t-suffer-petty-bureaucrats-gladly-a-very-bad-habit/) Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child > [When you're walking at the airport, you're expected to smile at people because they know you... I find that tough. I'm only trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kaif/when-you-re-walking-at-the-airport-you-re-expected-to-smile-at-people/) [Katrina Kaif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kaif/) > [Im not actually this tall, Ive got this bad habit of sitting on my wallet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan/im-not-actually-this-tall-ive-got-this-bad-habit-of-sitting-on-my/) [Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan/) > [Sometimes it doesn't take much to slip back into bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/didier-deschamps/sometimes-it-doesn-t-take-much-to-slip-back-into-bad-habits/) [Didier Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/didier-deschamps/) > [I have the same friends and the same bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/i-have-the-same-friends-and-the-same-bad-habits/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [I don't want to be overdramatic about it, but I'm starting to see a lot of my bad habits get the best of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/i-don-t-want-to-be-overdramatic-about-it-but-i-m-starting-to-see-a/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. To deny oneself means to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-of-alaska/the-first-duty-of-a-christian-of-a-disciple-and-follower-of-jesus/) Innocent of Alaska > [“So, did you see that community center I was talking about?” “What? Where?” “We walked right past it, just before that grocery store. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pearce/so-did-you-see-that-community-center-i-was-talking-about-what-where/) [Jackson Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pearce/) > [The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits - good and bad. So the key to the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gretzky/the-game-is-played-out-of-instinct-but-everyone-on-the-ice-has-habits/) [Wayne Gretzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gretzky/) > [“So then, according to Jesus, the ‘evils’ which we think, say and do are not due primarily to our environment, nor are they bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-w-stott/so-then-according-to-jesus-the-evils-which-we-think-say-and-do-are/) [John R.W. Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-w-stott/) > [My bad habits aren't my title. My strengths and my talent are my title.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layne-staley/my-bad-habits-aren-t-my-title-my-strengths-and-my-talent-are-my-title/) [Layne Staley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layne-staley/) > [Movies are one of the bad habits that have corrupted our century. They have slipped into the American mind more misinformation in one evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/movies-are-one-of-the-bad-habits-that-have-corrupted-our-century-they/) [Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/) [Browse all 567 Bad habit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-habit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A bad habit or two is good for a man or a beast. Did you ever know a man who didn't have any bad habits? 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