--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people mistake weakness for tact. If…" description: "\"Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel, they call it being tactf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg" --- # Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent… ![“Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel, they call it being tactful. Cowardice would be a much better name.” quote by Frank Medlicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg) > “Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel, they call it being tactful. Cowardice would be a much better name.” Frank Medlicott ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People confuse silence with politeness, calling it tact, when it’s actually cowardice. **In simple terms:** Silence isn’t always tactful; sometimes it’s cowardice. Key Takeaway Encourage honest communication over false politeness. Themes communication honesty social norms Mood cautious thoughtful Type ethical social When to use this quote - workplace - personal relationships - public discourse Key Concepts cowardice tact agreement Questions to Reflect On - When is silence appropriate? - How can you voice disagreement respectfully? A Different Perspective Tact can be necessary in delicate situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes/) [Tact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tact/) ## Related quotes > [Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if-they-are-silent-when-they/) Frank Medlicott > [Growing up, I didn't feel tactful or classy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chappell-roan/growing-up-i-didn-t-feel-tactful-or-classy/) [Chappell Roan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chappell-roan/) > [Zaphod did not want to tangle with them and, deciding that just as discretion is the better part of valor, so was cowardice is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/zaphod-did-not-want-to-tangle-with-them-and-deciding-that-just-as/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Cowardice is the better part of valor? Fuck it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/cowardice-is-the-better-part-of-valor-fuck-it/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Be sure, when you think you are being extremely tactful, that you are not in reality running away from something you ought to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/be-sure-when-you-think-you-are-being-extremely-tactful-that-you-are/) Frank Medlicott > [I regard (parenting) as the hardest, most complicated, anxiety-ridden, sweat-and-blood-producing job in the world. Succeeding requires the ultimate in patience, common sense, commitment, humor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-satir/i-regard-parenting-as-the-hardest-most-complicated-anxiety-ridden/) [Virginia Satir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-satir/) > [To extraordinary powers of labor, both mental and physical, he unites that tact and judgement which are requisite to the successful direction of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/to-extraordinary-powers-of-labor-both-mental-and-physical-he-unites/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [I have tales to tell, but I don't tell them. Discretion. Discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-peck/i-have-tales-to-tell-but-i-don-t-tell-them-discretion-discretion/) [Gregory Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-peck/) > [Love is the tact of every good, The only warmth, the only peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/love-is-the-tact-of-every-good-the-only-warmth-the-only-peace/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. Good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/lies-hold-civilization-together-if-people-ever-seriously-begin/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [A Positive Mental Attitude is the right mental attitude. What is the right mental attitude? It is most often comprised of the "plus" characteristics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-positive-mental-attitude-is-the-right-mental-attitude-what-is-the/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“A schoolmate of Matt Chandler's with the locker next to his: "I need to tell you about Jesus. When do you want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/a-schoolmate-of-matt-chandler-s-with-the-locker-next-to-his-i-need-to/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tact-is-the-ability-to-describe-others-as-they-see-themselves/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [... the majority of colored men do not yet think it worth while that women aspire to higher education… The three R's, a littlemusic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/the-majority-of-colored-men-do-not-yet-think-it-worth-while-that/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [If you use tact you can say anything, then make it funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/if-you-use-tact-you-can-say-anything-then-make-it-funny/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) ## More by Frank Medlicott > [Be sure, when you think you are being extremely tactful, that you are not in reality running away from something you ought to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/be-sure-when-you-think-you-are-being-extremely-tactful-that-you-are/) Frank Medlicott > [Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if-they-are-silent-when-they/) Frank Medlicott Explore all 3 Frank Medlicott quotes ## More Cowardice quotes > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-unpreparedness-of-the-educated-classes-the-lack-of-practical/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [Heckling is an act of cowardice. If you want to speak, get up in front of the microphone and speak, don't sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/heckling-is-an-act-of-cowardice-if-you-want-to-speak-get-up-in-front/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“To stand at the very moment when all seems lost is the point of insanity for the coward, but it is the home of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-stand-at-the-very-moment-when-all-seems-lost-is-the-point-of/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The biggest obstacles to our progress exist within our own lives in the form of cowardice and the tendency to give up. Breaking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/the-biggest-obstacles-to-our-progress-exist-within-our-own-lives-in/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-once-knew-a-man-who-was-heir-to-the-throne-of-a-great-kingdom-he/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Is there cowardice with the acknowledgement of fear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/is-there-cowardice-with-the-acknowledgement-of-fear/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Man alone mesures time. And because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-alone-mesures-time-and-because-of-this-man-alone-suffers-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Survival, with honor, that outmoded and all-important word, is as difficult as ever and as all-important to a writer. Those who do not last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/survival-with-honor-that-outmoded-and-all-important-word-is-as/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“People run away from the love game because they know they won't win the race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/people-run-away-from-the-love-game-because-they-know-they-won-t-win/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“Preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/four-from-divergent/preparation-eradicates-cowardice-which-we-define-as-the-failure-to/) Four from Divergent [Browse all 900 Cowardice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel, they call it being tactful. Cowardice would be a much better name.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Medlicott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if-they-are-silent-when-they-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cowardice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if-they-are-silent-when-they-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/frank-medlicott-88679_cowardice_some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if_2831567.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement…” — Frank Medlicott", "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": "Frank Medlicott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-medlicott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some people mistake weakness for tact....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if-they-are-silent-when-they-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-medlicott/some-people-mistake-weakness-for-tact-if-they-are-silent-when-they-2/#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 } } ] } ```