--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we…" description: "\"“I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we shoot sharks with it. As soon as they put their heads out we give them a burst.”\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg" --- # I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we shoot sharks with… ![“I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we shoot sharks with it. As soon as they put their heads out we give them a burst.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg) > ““I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we shoot sharks with it. As soon as they put their heads out we give them a burst.”” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, absurd image illustrates the reckless use of powerful tools without purpose. **In simple terms:** Powerful tools need meaningful use. Key Takeaway Apply tools wisely, not just for show. Themes power absurdity responsibility Mood cautionary darkly humorous Type ethical literary When to use this quote - military - hunting - sports Key Concepts weaponry misuse ethical considerations Questions to Reflect On - When does a tool become a liability? - How do you balance power with purpose? A Different Perspective Misuse can cause unintended harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Firearms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firearms/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Gun Shoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-shoot-570651/) [Machine gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machine-gun/) [Sharks Soon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharks-soon-5268919/) [Shoot Sharks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoot-sharks-5268917/) [Submachine Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/submachine-gun-649864/) [Thompson Submachine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thompson-submachine-5268918/) ## Related quotes > [“Hey, dickhead!" one of the other drivers yelled. "Get off the road!" "This here is a Falcon Seven," the rider told him. "I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/hey-dickhead-one-of-the-other-drivers-yelled-get-off-the-road-this/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“Hamid checked the silenced Heckler & Koch MP-5SD submachine gun for a third and final time before slapping a thirty-round magazine of 9mm hollowpoints…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-england/hamid-checked-the-silenced-heckler-koch-mp-5sd-submachine-gun-for-a/) [Stephen England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-england/) > [“The first time I saw Marcey Parker she was happily firing a submachine gun through a window.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/the-first-time-i-saw-marcey-parker-she-was-happily-firing-a/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“I gave him my Order smile: sweet grin, hard eyes, reached over to my passenger seat, and pulled out my submachine gun. About twenty-seven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-gave-him-my-order-smile-sweet-grin-hard-eyes-reached-over-to-my/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“Now standing in one corner of a boxing ring with a .22 caliber Colt automatic pistol, shooting a bullet weighing only 40 grains and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/now-standing-in-one-corner-of-a-boxing-ring-with-a-22-caliber-colt/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“I always shot scorpions with the .22 pistol.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-always-shot-scorpions-with-the-22-pistol/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The rifle and the pistol are still the equalizer when one man is more of a man than another, and if…he is really smart…he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-rifle-and-the-pistol-are-still-the-equalizer-when-one-man-is-more/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“I wondered...if there should be anything wrong with Sen. Joe McCarthy (Republican) of Wisconsin which a .577 solid would not cure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-wondered-if-there-should-be-anything-wrong-with-sen-joe-mccarthy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I would like one day to play an FBI cop, just so I can hold the gun and shoot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanola-hampton/i-would-like-one-day-to-play-an-fbi-cop-just-so-i-can-hold-the-gun/) [Shanola Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanola-hampton/) > [You don't go out and kick a mad dog. If you have a mad dog with rabies, you take a gun and shoot him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/you-don-t-go-out-and-kick-a-mad-dog-if-you-have-a-mad-dog-with-rabies/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [Does anyone here work in advertising or marketing? Well if you do, when you get home take a gun shoot yourself. No bullshit, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/does-anyone-here-work-in-advertising-or-marketing-well-if-you-do-when/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [If I had a gun, I'd shoot a hole into the sun and love would burn this city down for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/if-i-had-a-gun-i-d-shoot-a-hole-into-the-sun-and-love-would-burn-this/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [I don't think suicide is so terrible. Some rainy winter Sundays when there's a little boredom, you should always carry a gun. Not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-wertmuller/i-don-t-think-suicide-is-so-terrible-some-rainy-winter-sundays-when/) [Lina Wertmuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-wertmuller/) > [Sometimes things would be so much simpler if you could just pull out your gun and shoot the bad guy. Reason number seventeen why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rardin/sometimes-things-would-be-so-much-simpler-if-you-could-just-pull-out/) [Jennifer Rardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rardin/) > [“When you get a gun, shoot a zombie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crisiana-marie-leto/when-you-get-a-gun-shoot-a-zombie/) [Crisiana marie leto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crisiana-marie-leto/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Firearms quotes > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-polsby/gun-control-laws-don-t-work-what-is-worse-they-act-perversely-while/) [Daniel D. Polsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-polsby/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/after-more-than-two-decades-of-trying-to-destroy-the-firearms-rights/) [Alan Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gottlieb/) > [If liberals can seize our guns because they are dangerous, we have no chance of holding on to our cars and our homes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-liberals-can-seize-our-guns-because-they-are-dangerous-we-have-no/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [I don't care if they're licensed legal firearms, people who are not highly trained putting guns in their hands is a recipe for disaster.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-mccarthy/i-don-t-care-if-they-re-licensed-legal-firearms-people-who-are-not/) [Garry McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-mccarthy/) > [It's the camel's nose in the tent. Look at Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Idi Amin--every one of these monsters, on seizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/it-s-the-camel-s-nose-in-the-tent-look-at-stalin-mussolini-hitler-mao/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [In addition, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act provides protection for those in the firearms industry from lawsuits arising out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ney/in-addition-the-protection-of-lawful-commerce-in-arms-act-provides/) [Bob Ney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ney/) > [Without freedom there will be no firearms among the people; without firearms among the people there will not long be freedom. Certainly there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-knox/without-freedom-there-will-be-no-firearms-among-the-people-without/) [Neal Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-knox/) > [Muzzle control has to be a religion. You cannot point that weapon at one of your brothers-or yourself. Know where you barrel is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-couch/muzzle-control-has-to-be-a-religion-you-cannot-point-that-weapon-at/) [Dick Couch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-couch/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 223 Firearms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firearms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we shoot sharks with it. As soon as they put their heads out we give them a burst.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we-shoot-sharks-with-it-as-soon/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Firearms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we-shoot-sharks-with-it-as-soon/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c34/ernest-hemingway-83_firearms_i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we_3083436.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a Thompson SubMachine gun and we shoot sharks with it. As soon as they put their heads out we give…” — Ernest Hemingway", "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": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have a Thompson SubMachine gun...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we-shoot-sharks-with-it-as-soon/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-have-a-thompson-submachine-gun-and-we-shoot-sharks-with-it-as-soon/#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 } } ] } ```