--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have never heard me talk much. But an…" description: "\"“You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend his time with fools.”\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/ernest-hemingway-83_drunk_you-have-never-heard-me-talk-much-but-an_2496971.jpg" --- # You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent man… ![“You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend his time with fools.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/ernest-hemingway-83_drunk_you-have-never-heard-me-talk-much-but-an_2496971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/ernest-hemingway-83_drunk_you-have-never-heard-me-talk-much-but-an_2496971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be9/ernest-hemingway-83_drunk_you-have-never-heard-me-talk-much-but-an_2496971.jpg) > ““You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend his time with fools.”” [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. Intelligent people sometimes must endure foolish company, even if it means compromising their own standards. **In simple terms:** Smart people may have to mingle with fools. Key Takeaway Choose your company wisely. Themes wisdom social dynamics integrity Mood cautious reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - networking events - family gatherings - workplace meetings - political debates Key Concepts social pressure self‑preservation Questions to Reflect On - Is it worth sacrificing standards for companionship? - How can you maintain integrity among fools? A Different Perspective Compromising values can erode personal integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Drunk Spend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk-spend-1022823/) [Forced Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forced-drunk-1022821/) [Intelligent man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-man/) [Talk Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-intelligent-1022822/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/an-intelligent-man-is-sometimes-forced-to-be-drunk-to-spend-time-with/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [When I am not drunk I do not talk. You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent woman is sometimes forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-am-not-drunk-i-do-not-talk-you-have-never-heard-me-talk-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am drunk, seest thou? When I am not drunk I do not talk. You have never heard me talk much. But an intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-am-drunk-seest-thou-when-i-am-not-drunk-i-do-not-talk-you-have/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I frowned at the list. “So… I’ll go back and tell the Traynors that I’m going to get their suicidal quadriplegic son drunk, spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-frowned-at-the-list-so-i-ll-go-back-and-tell-the-traynors-that-i-m/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [Most people that you talk to, they's intelligent. 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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 Drunk quotes > [High school sucked. 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I don’t have all night.” Fidelia set her beer on the porch and removed a set of keys from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerrelyn-sparks/well-make-up-your-mind-i-don-t-have-all-night-fidelia-set-her-beer-on/) [Kerrelyn Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerrelyn-sparks/) > [I have so strong a sense of creation, of tomorrow, that I cannot get drunk, knowing I will be less alive, less well, less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-have-so-strong-a-sense-of-creation-of-tomorrow-that-i-cannot-get/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I was so drunk last night I fell down and missed the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/i-was-so-drunk-last-night-i-fell-down-and-missed-the-floor/) [Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. 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