--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I stopped drinking before I became a…" description: "\"I stopped drinking before I became a comic; one was a replacement for the other.\" — Frank Skinner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png" --- # I stopped drinking before I became a comic; one was a… ![“I stopped drinking before I became a comic; one was a replacement for the other.” quote by Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png) > “I stopped drinking before I became a comic; one was a replacement for the other.” [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Replacing one habit with another can mask underlying issues rather than resolve them. **In simple terms:** Swapping habits may hide problems. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not just symptoms. Themes addiction habit change self‑awareness Mood wry introspective Type humorous self‑reflective When to use this quote - recovery - stress coping - creative pursuits Key Concepts behavioral psychology humor Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to replace habits? - Can humor help change? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay seriousness of addiction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic Replacement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-replacement-3297546/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Drinking Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-comic-3297545/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Replacement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replacement/) [Stopped Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stopped-drinking-449565/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [I stopped drinking on 24 September 1986.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-stopped-drinking-on-24-september-1986/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I remember when I turned 30 and I started doing sit-ups, I split with my girlfriend and stopped drinking and all sorts of things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-remember-when-i-turned-30-and-i-started-doing-sit-ups-i-split-with/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I've stopped drinking, but only while I'm asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-best/i-ve-stopped-drinking-but-only-while-i-m-asleep/) [George Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-best/) > [When I stopped drinking, it was only because I thought if I don't stop, I'm going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/when-i-stopped-drinking-it-was-only-because-i-thought-if-i-don-t-stop/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I haven't been drinking for years now. Something's got to give. I don't mind that I'm a guy that's stopped drinking, though this interview…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hicks/i-haven-t-been-drinking-for-years-now-something-s-got-to-give-i-don-t/) [Dan Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hicks/) > [“Two days before she went to New York, Jacaranda stopped drinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/two-days-before-she-went-to-new-york-jacaranda-stopped-drinking/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [I stopped drinking when I had children because I wanted to be awake and aware. I did not want to be going, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-stopped-drinking-when-i-had-children-because-i-wanted-to-be-awake/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I started drinking red wine after I stopped drinking sake and whiskey, because it's better for your heart - it's about the only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/i-started-drinking-red-wine-after-i-stopped-drinking-sake-and-whiskey/) [Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/) > [I've had a hip replacement, I've beaten cancer, I had my hand operation, and I stopped drinking. Something inside of me just went, 'I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-van-halen/i-ve-had-a-hip-replacement-i-ve-beaten-cancer-i-had-my-hand-operation/) [Eddie Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-van-halen/) > [I never stopped drinking, I just don't drink that much anymore. You know, sometimes on the weekends, it's not like a daily thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-mosley/i-never-stopped-drinking-i-just-don-t-drink-that-much-anymore-you/) [Chuck Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-mosley/) > [When I stopped drinking... there were so many things I had to face that I didnt even realize were part of my makeup before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/when-i-stopped-drinking-there-were-so-many-things-i-had-to-face-that/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I stopped drinking when I was 23. I kind of started when I was 13, so it was a 10-year run. But I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mulaney/i-stopped-drinking-when-i-was-23-i-kind-of-started-when-i-was-13-so/) [John Mulaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mulaney/) > [I think a lot of cynicism has dropped away from my shoulders since I stopped drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-coxon/i-think-a-lot-of-cynicism-has-dropped-away-from-my-shoulders-since-i/) [Graham Coxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-coxon/) > [“There’s something purely foolish about attending any large gathering of men and women without benefit of some kind of philter or magic dust to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/there-s-something-purely-foolish-about-attending-any-large-gathering/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I stopped drinking alcohol, which probably was the biggest change. I used to be a very big beer drinker. Being from England, that's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-barrett/i-stopped-drinking-alcohol-which-probably-was-the-biggest-change-i/) [Wade Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-barrett/) ## More by Frank Skinner > [I like to turn up my collar when I'm leaving the theatre and feel like I'm some heroic comedian figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-like-to-turn-up-my-collar-when-i-m-leaving-the-theatre-and-feel/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I think when anyone says you look like a famous person you fiercely deny it, and then go around hoping other people will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-think-when-anyone-says-you-look-like-a-famous-person-you-fiercely/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I stopped drinking on 24 September 1986.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-stopped-drinking-on-24-september-1986/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [“Anyway, my writer gang: they kind of did their comedy apprenticeship with me and, during that period, when they were young and impressionable, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/anyway-my-writer-gang-they-kind-of-did-their-comedy-apprenticeship/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I suppose that every relationship I have been in has had a lot of arguments. I find it very hard to keep things at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-suppose-that-every-relationship-i-have-been-in-has-had-a-lot-of/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [Sometimes when you start improvising on stage, which I do a fair bit of, obviously you haven't planned it. But to be honest, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/sometimes-when-you-start-improvising-on-stage-which-i-do-a-fair-bit/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [After I became a professional comedian, I took to listening to Cash's classic hit 'Ring of Fire' before I went on stage. I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/after-i-became-a-professional-comedian-i-took-to-listening-to-cash-s/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I would like to talk about poems like I talk about football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-would-like-to-talk-about-poems-like-i-talk-about-football/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [If you strip a lot of performers to the core, you find that urge to show off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/if-you-strip-a-lot-of-performers-to-the-core-you-find-that-urge-to/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I did a few mainstream clubs in Birmingham when I started out. Racist comedy was absolutely the norm. Every act was doing it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-did-a-few-mainstream-clubs-in-birmingham-when-i-started-out-racist/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [You can spend your whole life trying to be popular, but at the end of the day, the size of the crowd at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-trying-to-be-popular-but-at-the-end-of/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [When I started earning, a lot of me didn't need worrying about anymore, so I had scope to worry about someone else. Money, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/when-i-started-earning-a-lot-of-me-didn-t-need-worrying-about-anymore/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [There is a period in your life when you need your parents and a period in your life where you only think you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/there-is-a-period-in-your-life-when-you-need-your-parents-and-a/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [My dreams are things like: I'm in the supermarket, I queue, and then I leave the supermarket. It's basically my life but I happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/my-dreams-are-things-like-i-m-in-the-supermarket-i-queue-and-then-i/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I wish I had started to play the ukulele much earlier in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-wish-i-had-started-to-play-the-ukulele-much-earlier-in-life/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) [Explore all 111 Frank Skinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) ## More Before quotes > [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/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [My writing routine is: get son off to school and sit down at 8 A.M. I read what I wrote the day before, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/my-writing-routine-is-get-son-off-to-school-and-sit-down-at-8-a-m-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [There aren't traditions of freedom in a place like Iraq. They're going to have to come to grips with a concept that they hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wallop/there-aren-t-traditions-of-freedom-in-a-place-like-iraq-they-re-going/) [Malcolm Wallop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wallop/) > [I don't like just traveling in for a short time. I've done that before, because sometimes you work for magazines and they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/i-don-t-like-just-traveling-in-for-a-short-time-i-ve-done-that-before/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [For the Russian masses, the proletarians, knew for certain, and already saw during the war, and in part before their very eyes, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-gorter/for-the-russian-masses-the-proletarians-knew-for-certain-and-already/) [Herman Gorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-gorter/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) [Joe Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pitts/) > [I've been told before, and I tend to believe it, I'm not like most actresses out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-ve-been-told-before-and-i-tend-to-believe-it-i-m-not-like-most/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Before I got addicted to comedy, I was seriously thinking about playing tennis full time. I joined the tennis team and played with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/before-i-got-addicted-to-comedy-i-was-seriously-thinking-about/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [But even before I was in the military, I was extremely jumpy when asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/but-even-before-i-was-in-the-military-i-was-extremely-jumpy-when/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [When I'm making stuff, the thing that excites me most is not the result, but the process and trying to do something I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-jonze/when-i-m-making-stuff-the-thing-that-excites-me-most-is-not-the/) [Spike Jonze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-jonze/) > [I've pulled ticks off of me before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-ve-pulled-ticks-off-of-me-before/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [You know, before I would think, my cab driver hates me. Now I think my limo driver hates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/you-know-before-i-would-think-my-cab-driver-hates-me-now-i-think-my/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) [Browse all 4,123 Before quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I stopped drinking before I became a comic; one was a replacement for the other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Skinner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-comic-one-was-a-replacement-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Before" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-comic-one-was-a-replacement-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/frank-skinner-4400_before_i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-com_1969323.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I stopped drinking before I became a comic; one was a replacement for the other.” — Frank Skinner", "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 Skinner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I stopped drinking before I became...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-comic-one-was-a-replacement-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/i-stopped-drinking-before-i-became-a-comic-one-was-a-replacement-for/#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 } } ] } ```