--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nobody knows what's in him until he tries…" description: "\"Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out. If there's nothing, or very little, the shock can kill a man.\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-hemingway-83_ifs_nobody-knows-what-s-in-him-until-he-trie_598982.jpg" --- # Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out… ![“Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out. If there's nothing, or very little, the shock can kill a man.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-hemingway-83_ifs_nobody-knows-what-s-in-him-until-he-trie_598982.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-hemingway-83_ifs_nobody-knows-what-s-in-him-until-he-trie_598982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/303/ernest-hemingway-83_ifs_nobody-knows-what-s-in-him-until-he-trie_598982.jpg) > “Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out. If there's nothing, or very little, the shock can kill a man.” [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. People often remain unknown until they are tested; failure can be devastating. **In simple terms:** Testing reveals true character; failure can be shocking. Key Takeaway Test yourself and accept outcomes. Themes self‑discovery risk failure resilience Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career challenges - personal relationships - creative pursuits Key Concepts psychology of potential human limits courage Questions to Reflect On - What risks are worth taking? - How do you recover from a painful failure? A Different Perspective Not all attempts lead to growth; some risks may be unnecessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) ## Related quotes > [“Listen!” said Roosta urgently. “You can kill a man, destroy his body, break his spirit, but only the Total Perspective Vortex can annihilate a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/listen-said-roosta-urgently-you-can-kill-a-man-destroy-his-body-break/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/kill-one-man-and-you-are-a-murderer-kill-millions-of-men-and-you-are/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-know-you-are-here-to-kill-me-shoot-coward-you-are-only-going-to/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/to-kill-a-man-is-not-to-defend-a-doctrine-but-to-kill-a-man/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [You'd better not kill me, man, I've got shit to do tomorrow!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-wayans/you-d-better-not-kill-me-man-i-ve-got-shit-to-do-tomorrow/) [Damon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-wayans/) > [Ask any soldier. To kill a man is to merit a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/ask-any-soldier-to-kill-a-man-is-to-merit-a-woman/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [“Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/nobody-knows-what-s-in-him-until-he-tries-to-pull-it-out/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Let’s walk down the rue de Seine and look in all the galleries and in the windows of the shops.’ ‘Sure. We can walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/let-s-walk-down-the-rue-de-seine-and-look-in-all-the-galleries-and-in/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [There are two kinds of stories, the ones you live and the ones you make up. And nobody knows the difference, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-are-two-kinds-of-stories-the-ones-you-live-and-the-ones-you/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [You never kill any one that you want to kill in a war, he said to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-never-kill-any-one-that-you-want-to-kill-in-a-war-he-said-to/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-of-such-a-fish-but-i-must-kill-him-i-am/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You cannot kill a man who is already dead. 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The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone ## 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 Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nobody knows what's in him until he tries to pull it out. 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