--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you get down to the nitty gritty…" description: "\"When you get down to the nitty gritty, isn't it a pity that in this big city not one little bitty man will admit that he could have been a little wrong..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg" --- # When you get down to the nitty gritty, isn't it a pity… ![“When you get down to the nitty gritty, isn't it a pity that in this big city not one little bitty man will admit that he could have been a little wrong.” quote by Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg) > “When you get down to the nitty gritty, isn't it a pity that in this big city not one little bitty man will admit that he could have been a little wrong.” [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often deny small mistakes, highlighting pride and denial in urban life. **In simple terms:** People won’t admit they’re wrong. Key Takeaway Encourage humility and honesty. Themes pride denial urban life Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace meetings - political debates - friendship conflicts - public statements Key Concepts cognitive dissonance self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - Why is admitting fault hard? - When does pride become harmful? A Different Perspective Denial can protect ego but hinders growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admit Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admit-little-1136466/) [Big cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-cities/) [Big city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-city/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-little-3425408/) [Could have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could-have-been/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Little Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-wrong-701221/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nitty Gritty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nitty-gritty-1795811/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Pity Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity-big-3425409/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) ## Related quotes > [LA is a harsh city to be in when you're a little girl from the South, and you have absolutely no idea what you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madelyn-cline/la-is-a-harsh-city-to-be-in-when-you-re-a-little-girl-from-the-south/) [Madelyn Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madelyn-cline/) > [The most important thing for me is to walk the little alleys of the city, to find the little alcove where someone is cooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/the-most-important-thing-for-me-is-to-walk-the-little-alleys-of-the/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [“We have, let us face it and admit it, little influence. We prey on them, and we take from them, and we get by;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-have-let-us-face-it-and-admit-it-little-influence-we-prey-on-them/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Admit it you once made a little kid cry, and then made them laugh so you wouldn't get into trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/admit-it-you-once-made-a-little-kid-cry-and-then-made-them-laugh-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Only by pursuing the extremes in one's nature, with all its contradictions, appetites, aversions, rages, can one hope to understand a little ... oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/only-by-pursuing-the-extremes-in-one-s-nature-with-all-its/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [As I've probably said before, television exposes writers to far more of the nitty-gritty than film does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-beacham/as-i-ve-probably-said-before-television-exposes-writers-to-far-more/) [Travis Beacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-beacham/) > [Motherhood is nitty and gritty and brutal and wonderful, but everything I read is about the wonderful parts. Sometimes, you're really in the trenches!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-marie/motherhood-is-nitty-and-gritty-and-brutal-and-wonderful-but/) [Constance Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-marie/) > [So raise your glass if you are wrong In all the right ways, all my underdogs. We will never be, never be anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-nk/so-raise-your-glass-if-you-are-wrong-in-all-the-right-ways-all-my/) [P!nk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-nk/) > [We can skip through a lot of the stuff people might ask about the writing of the book, and so their comments always start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/we-can-skip-through-a-lot-of-the-stuff-people-might-ask-about-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [People who are kind of at the cutting edge of life and survival, and being near the nitty-gritty, like my films, and I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-craven/people-who-are-kind-of-at-the-cutting-edge-of-life-and-survival-and/) [Wes Craven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-craven/) > [There is an infinite difference between a little wrong and just right, between fairly good and the best, between mediocrity and superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-an-infinite-difference-between-a-little-wrong-and-just-right/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [To do a great right do a little wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/to-do-a-great-right-do-a-little-wrong/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“in a people whose moral code is so lax, so little is wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/in-a-people-whose-moral-code-is-so-lax-so-little-is-wrong/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Remember, the Devil loves to make us focus on the little that's wrong so we miss the big picture of all that's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/remember-the-devil-loves-to-make-us-focus-on-the-little-that-s-wrong/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [It's just too little too late. A little too wrong and I can't wait...but you know, all the right things to say. You know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo/it-s-just-too-little-too-late-a-little-too-wrong-and-i-can-t-wait-but/) [Jojo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo/) ## More by Elvis Presley > [Life has taught me one big lesson, always keep the girlies guessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/life-has-taught-me-one-big-lesson-always-keep-the-girlies-guessing/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [I wouldn't call girls a hobby. It's a pastime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/i-wouldn-t-call-girls-a-hobby-it-s-a-pastime/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [The greatest voice of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/the-greatest-voice-of-all-time/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Wise men say only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/wise-men-say-only-fools-rush-in-but-i-can-t-help-falling-in-love-with/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [I'm lonely like Adam and you're evil like Eve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/i-m-lonely-like-adam-and-you-re-evil-like-eve/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [My philosophy of life is simple: I need someone to love, something to wait and do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/my-philosophy-of-life-is-simple-i-need-someone-to-love-something-to/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Teenagers are my life and my triumph. I'd be nowhere without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/teenagers-are-my-life-and-my-triumph-i-d-be-nowhere-without-them/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [People ask me where I got my singing style. I didn't copy my style from anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/people-ask-me-where-i-got-my-singing-style-i-didn-t-copy-my-style/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [How can you lose something you never had, I tell myself when I'm feeling sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/how-can-you-lose-something-you-never-had-i-tell-myself-when-i-m/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Tomorrow will be too late, it's now or never...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/tomorrow-will-be-too-late-it-s-now-or-never/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine. Ain't nowhere else in the world where you can go from driving a truck to cadillac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/ambition-is-a-dream-with-a-v8-engine-ain-t-nowhere-else-in-the-world/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [The image is one thing and the human being is another...it's very hard to live up to an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/the-image-is-one-thing-and-the-human-being-is-another-it-s-very-hard/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [I want to entertain people. That's my whole life. To my last breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/i-want-to-entertain-people-that-s-my-whole-life-to-my-last-breath/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [She touched my hand what a chill I got, her lips are like a volcano that's hot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/she-touched-my-hand-what-a-chill-i-got-her-lips-are-like-a-volcano/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) > [Since I was two years old, all I knew was gospel music. That music became such a part of my life it was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/since-i-was-two-years-old-all-i-knew-was-gospel-music-that-music/) [Elvis Presley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) [Explore all 263 Elvis Presley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/) ## More Big cities quotes > [It is a fact of big cities that one girl's darkest how is always another's moment of shining triumph, and New York is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/it-is-a-fact-of-big-cities-that-one-girl-s-darkest-how-is-always/) [Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/) > [“The two big cities of Australia are tonally as distinct from each other as Boston is from L.A. or Lyon from Marseilles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/the-two-big-cities-of-australia-are-tonally-as-distinct-from-each/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [“When you live in New York or any big city, it is easy to fail at growing up. The city is designed to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/when-you-live-in-new-york-or-any-big-city-it-is-easy-to-fail-at/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [One thing that's really interesting is not only the magnitude of the recent immigration into this country, but also its distribution and its investment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-prewitt/one-thing-that-s-really-interesting-is-not-only-the-magnitude-of-the/) [Kenneth Prewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-prewitt/) > [My experiences growing up - my father lived in New York, so I was going out there in the summers and meeting really interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/my-experiences-growing-up-my-father-lived-in-new-york-so-i-was-going/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [If you go to a big city anywhere in the world and you need a doctor, just ask me. 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This makes living in big cities invaluable because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/work-hard-not-in-grunt-work-but-in-chasing-such-opportunities-and/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Science will liberate us from the chains of big cities and lead us back to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/science-will-liberate-us-from-the-chains-of-big-cities-and-lead-us/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) [Browse all 170 Big cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you get down to the nitty gritty, isn't it a pity that in this big city not one little bitty man will admit that he could have been a little wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elvis Presley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-isn-t-it-a-pity-that-in-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-isn-t-it-a-pity-that-in-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e12/elvis-presley-1269_big-cities_when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-is_1987209.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you get down to the nitty gritty, isn't it a pity that in this big city not one little bitty man will…” — Elvis Presley", "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": "Elvis Presley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-presley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you get down to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-isn-t-it-a-pity-that-in-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-presley/when-you-get-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-isn-t-it-a-pity-that-in-this/#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 } } ] } ```