--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Someone once threw me a small, brown…" description: "\"Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.\" — Erma Bombeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png" --- # Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit… ![“Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.” quote by Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png) > “Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.” [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous anecdote about overreacting to a trivial annoyance, illustrating absurd escalation. **In simple terms:** Overreacting to small problems. Key Takeaway Avoid disproportionate reactions. Themes humor overreaction absurdity Mood lighthearted ironic Type anecdotal humorous When to use this quote - everyday irritation - office politics - family disputes Key Concepts social commentary exaggeration Questions to Reflect On - When did you overreact? - What could have been a calmer response? A Different Perspective Exaggeration can mask underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruit/) ## Related quotes > [“The past is in the wastebasket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-thomas/the-past-is-in-the-wastebasket/) [Abigail Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-thomas/) > [“A few years before, it had taken her three days to dispose of the Easter chick she had found dead on the sawdust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/a-few-years-before-it-had-taken-her-three-days-to-dispose-of-the/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason. Think of it as the altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/a-ratio-of-failures-is-built-into-the-process-of-writing-the-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [A ratio of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/a-ratio-of-failures-is-built-into-the-process-of-writing-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The physicist's greatest tool is his wastebasket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-physicist-s-greatest-tool-is-his-wastebasket/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Small wastebasket liners, $1.17 ... tall wastebasket liners, $2.29 ... garbage can liners, $3.98 ... I think I just spent $7.44 buying something I'm going to throw away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/small-wastebasket-liners-1-17-tall-wastebasket-liners-2-29-garbage/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [I found a discarded textbook on calculus in a wastebasket and read it from cover to cover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pople/i-found-a-discarded-textbook-on-calculus-in-a-wastebasket-and-read-it/) [John Pople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pople/) > [I know as a writer how valuable a tool is the wastebasket. Perhaps God throws away many experiments before He finds the right expression.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/i-know-as-a-writer-how-valuable-a-tool-is-the-wastebasket-perhaps-god/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [The wastebasket is a writer's best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/the-wastebasket-is-a-writer-s-best-friend/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [You know you’re writing well when you're throwing good stuff into the wastebasket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-know-you-re-writing-well-when-you-re-throwing-good-stuff-into-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Happiness is a very small desk and a very big wastebasket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/happiness-is-a-very-small-desk-and-a-very-big-wastebasket/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [Next to the dog, the wastebasket is your best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/next-to-the-dog-the-wastebasket-is-your-best-friend/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Photographers undervalue the use of a wastebasket in their pursuit of fine photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-steiner/photographers-undervalue-the-use-of-a-wastebasket-in-their-pursuit-of/) [Ralph Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-steiner/) > [The most important tool of the theoretical physicist is his wastebasket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-important-tool-of-the-theoretical-physicist-is-his/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-write-one-page-of-masterpiece-to-ninety-one-pages-of-shit-i-try-to/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More by Erma Bombeck > [Cats invented self-esteem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/cats-invented-self-esteem/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The woman who says, 'My kids are all speaking to one another and they love us' is a psychopathic liar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-woman-who-says-my-kids-are-all-speaking-to-one-another-and-they/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The term 'working mother' is redundant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-term-working-mother-is-redundant/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [To say, "Well, I write when I really get into it" is a bunch of bull. Put the paper in the typewriter, stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-say-well-i-write-when-i-really-get-into-it-is-a-bunch-of-bull-put/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [I used everything you gave me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/i-used-everything-you-gave-me/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Just think of all those women on the Titanic who said, 'No thank you' to desert that night. And for what?!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/just-think-of-all-those-women-on-the-titanic-who-said-no-thank-you-to/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The mole rat is the only rodent born without a fur coat. With a good lawyer, someone would pay for that little oversight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-mole-rat-is-the-only-rodent-born-without-a-fur-coat-with-a-good/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [God created man, but I could do better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/god-created-man-but-i-could-do-better/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [If the nest is truly empty, who owns all this junk?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/if-the-nest-is-truly-empty-who-owns-all-this-junk/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Housework, if it is done properly, can cause brain damage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/housework-if-it-is-done-properly-can-cause-brain-damage/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Making coffee has become the great compromise of the decade. It's the only thing "real" men do that doesn't seem to threaten their masculinity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/making-coffee-has-become-the-great-compromise-of-the-decade-it-s-the/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy: Seize the Moment. Just possibly, she may be the wisest woman on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/i-have-a-friend-who-lives-by-a-three-word-philosophy-seize-the-moment/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/when-i-stand-before-god-at-the-end-of-my-life-i-would-hope-that-i/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Before we sent kids to computer camps and told them they were having a good time, there was imagination among the human species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/before-we-sent-kids-to-computer-camps-and-told-them-they-were-having/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) [Explore all 372 Erma Bombeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) ## More Brown quotes > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [It's bluesy, rocky jazz. I call it soul music, but it's not James Brown soul music. It comes from my soul. It comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinsel-korey/it-s-bluesy-rocky-jazz-i-call-it-soul-music-but-it-s-not-james-brown/) [Tinsel Korey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinsel-korey/) > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [In the Sacramento of the 1950s, it was as though White simply hadn't had time enough to figure Brown out. It was a busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/in-the-sacramento-of-the-1950s-it-was-as-though-white-simply-hadn-t/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [A guy called Arthur Brown... was a big influence of mine... and also Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/a-guy-called-arthur-brown-was-a-big-influence-of-mine-and-also-ian/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [Why should anyone think a white skin superior in evaluating the qualities of human life? I did not really admire a white skin so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/why-should-anyone-think-a-white-skin-superior-in-evaluating-the/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Women now influence the majority of consumer purchases. It is women's votes that will secure victory at the next election, hence the altogether delicious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pearson/women-now-influence-the-majority-of-consumer-purchases-it-is-women-s/) [Allison Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-pearson/) > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [If you're white, you're alright. If you're brown, stick around. but if you're black, oh baby. Get back, Get back, Get back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huddie-william-ledbetter/if-you-re-white-you-re-alright-if-you-re-brown-stick-around-but-if/) [Huddie William Ledbetter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huddie-william-ledbetter/) > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [Make-up wise Charlotte Tilbury, Estee Lauder, and Bobbi Brown are my favourites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vogue-williams/make-up-wise-charlotte-tilbury-estee-lauder-and-bobbi-brown-are-my/) [Vogue Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vogue-williams/) > [When I was a kid I used to look at Wes Brown. I loved him as a player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-richards/when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-look-at-wes-brown-i-loved-him-as-a-player/) [Micah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-richards/) > [“if its brown its down”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-hanlon/if-its-brown-its-down/) Zachary Hanlon Browse all 1,373 Brown quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erma Bombeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hairy-kiwi-fruit-and-i-threw-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brown" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hairy-kiwi-fruit-and-i-threw-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/erma-bombeck-780_brown_someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hair_894772.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.” — Erma Bombeck", "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": "Erma Bombeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Someone once threw me a small,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hairy-kiwi-fruit-and-i-threw-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/someone-once-threw-me-a-small-brown-hairy-kiwi-fruit-and-i-threw-a/#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 } } ] } ```