--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs…" description: "\"Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs. Give me my thumbs, you fu**ing monkeys!\" — Garth Stein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png" --- # Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs. Give me my… ![“Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs. Give me my thumbs, you fu**ing monkeys!” quote by Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png) > “Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs. Give me my thumbs, you fu\*\*ing monkeys!” [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker angrily demands human thumbs, rejecting animal-like adaptations. **In simple terms:** I want human thumbs, not monkey ones. Key Takeaway Assert your individuality. Themes identity humor conflict Mood ironic defiant Type fiction humorous When to use this quote - personal boundaries - creative writing - character development - social commentary Key Concepts anthropomorphism self‑assertion Questions to Reflect On - Why do you resist conformity? - How does humor convey frustration? A Different Perspective May be seen as overly aggressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Monkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkey/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) ## Related quotes > [Monkeys who very sensibly refrain from speech, lest they should be set to earn their livings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/monkeys-who-very-sensibly-refrain-from-speech-lest-they-should-be-set/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [If you pay peanuts, you wind up hiring monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal/if-you-pay-peanuts-you-wind-up-hiring-monkeys/) [Hannibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal/) > [A monkey was carrying two handfuls of peas. One little pea dropped out. He tried to pick it up, and split twenty. He tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/a-monkey-was-carrying-two-handfuls-of-peas-one-little-pea-dropped-out/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-want-you-to-recognize-that-i-m-a-proud-monkey/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [A monkey could drive this train.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-whitman/a-monkey-could-drive-this-train/) [Meg Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-whitman/) > [In all honesty, if somebody asked me the secret of auditioning for Americans, I don't know. Often, I do what's called self-taping for America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/in-all-honesty-if-somebody-asked-me-the-secret-of-auditioning-for/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [We are creatures of information and the imagination. The monkey we are already beginning to transform and shed. We don't look like the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-creatures-of-information-and-the-imagination-the-monkey-we-are/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If money grew on trees... girls would date monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-money-grew-on-trees-girls-would-date-monkeys/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I don't mind if, according to the Law of Evolution, my grand grand grand etc. father is a monkey,but I do mind if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-don-t-mind-if-according-to-the-law-of-evolution-my-grand-grand/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Well, there's no monkey on my back,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/well-there-s-no-monkey-on-my-back/) [Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/) > [A monkey was the President, though maybe not the first. And there was peace and harmony throughout the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/a-monkey-was-the-president-though-maybe-not-the-first-and-there-was/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [My dream pet? I like a couple of them, man: monkey, I love dogs. See, tigers, I don't know - I can't be playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/french-montana/my-dream-pet-i-like-a-couple-of-them-man-monkey-i-love-dogs-see/) [French Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/french-montana/) > [The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of its behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stilwell/the-higher-a-monkey-climbs-the-more-you-see-of-its-behind/) [Joseph Stilwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stilwell/) > [But then, after all, we are all alike, for we are all derived from the monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/but-then-after-all-we-are-all-alike-for-we-are-all-derived-from-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [What is Man? Man is a noisome bacillus whom Our Heavenly Father created because he was disappointed in the monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-is-man-man-is-a-noisome-bacillus-whom-our-heavenly-father/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Garth Stein > [What I want now is what I've always wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/what-i-want-now-is-what-i-ve-always-wanted/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [“Man's closest relative is not the chimpanzee, as the TV people believe, but is, in fact, the dog. "Enzo" I admire the female sex.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/man-s-closest-relative-is-not-the-chimpanzee-as-the-tv-people-believe/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [“There is no dishonor in losing the race, Don said. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose. ~p 227”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/there-is-no-dishonor-in-losing-the-race-don-said-there-is-only/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [It’s so hard to communicate because there are so many moving parts. There’s presentation and there’s interpretation and they’re so dependent on each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/it-s-so-hard-to-communicate-because-there-are-so-many-moving-parts/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [“This is what I love to do: I love to run through a field of wet grass that has not been mowed recently, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/this-is-what-i-love-to-do-i-love-to-run-through-a-field-of-wet-grass/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/there-is-no-dishonor-in-losing-the-race-there-is-only-dishonor-in-not/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [In racing, they say that your car goes where your eyes go. The driver who cannot tear his eyes away from the wall as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/in-racing-they-say-that-your-car-goes-where-your-eyes-go-the-driver/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [When I return to the world, I will be a man. I will walk among you. I will lick my lips with my small,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/when-i-return-to-the-world-i-will-be-a-man-i-will-walk-among-you-i/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [My soul has learned what it came to learn, and all the other things are just things. We can't have everything we want. Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/my-soul-has-learned-what-it-came-to-learn-and-all-the-other-things/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [I hear hundreds of years of life. I hear wind and rain and fire and beetles. I hear the seasons changing and birds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/i-hear-hundreds-of-years-of-life-i-hear-wind-and-rain-and-fire-and/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [“What I have always liked best is when he talks about having no memory. No memory of things he'd done just a second before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/what-i-have-always-liked-best-is-when-he-talks-about-having-no-memory/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [“Know who is driving next to you. Any problems that may occur have ultimately been caused by you, because you are responsible for where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/know-who-is-driving-next-to-you-any-problems-that-may-occur-have/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [“Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/pretend-you-are-a-dog-like-me-and-listen-to-other-people-rather-than/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/that-which-we-manifest-is-before-us-we-are-the-creators-of-our-own/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) > [The race is long. It is better to drive within oneself and finish the race behind the other than it is to drive too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/the-race-is-long-it-is-better-to-drive-within-oneself-and-finish-the/) [Garth Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) [Explore all 187 Garth Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/) ## More Dog quotes > [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/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [“Flattery looks like friendship, just like a wolf looks like a dog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice/flattery-looks-like-friendship-just-like-a-wolf-looks-like-a-dog/) [Oscar Auliq-Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-auliq-ice/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [A shoe dog is somebody that really loves shoes, and that was me. I was a runner... that became important to me, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/a-shoe-dog-is-somebody-that-really-loves-shoes-and-that-was-me-i-was/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“I rub the ears of my dog, my stupid goddam ruddy great dog that I never wanted but who hung around anyway and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/i-rub-the-ears-of-my-dog-my-stupid-goddam-ruddy-great-dog-that-i/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ “A hasty dog always burns his mouth. \[192\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-t-plaatje/a-hasty-dog-always-burns-his-mouth-192/) [Sol T. Plaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-t-plaatje/) > [And if the big dog ain't me, then the house won't get guarded - period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-if-the-big-dog-ain-t-me-then-the-house-won-t-get-guarded-period/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“A year-long study by the University of Pennsylvania, ending in 2009 and published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science (Elsevier), showed that aggressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-custo/a-year-long-study-by-the-university-of-pennsylvania-ending-in-2009/) Edward Custo [Browse all 6,836 Dog quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs. Give me my thumbs, you fu**ing monkeys!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garth Stein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs-give-me-my-thumbs-you-fu-ing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dog" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs-give-me-my-thumbs-you-fu-ing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/655/garth-stein-1965_dog_those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs_1075367.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs. Give me my thumbs, you fu**ing monkeys!” — Garth Stein", "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": "Garth Stein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-stein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those monkey-thumbs were meant for dogs....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs-give-me-my-thumbs-you-fu-ing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-stein/those-monkey-thumbs-were-meant-for-dogs-give-me-my-thumbs-you-fu-ing/#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 } } ] } ```