--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I occasionally swank a little because…" description: "\"I occasionally swank a little because people like it; a modest man is such a nuisance.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png" --- # I occasionally swank a little because people like it; a… ![“I occasionally swank a little because people like it; a modest man is such a nuisance.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png) > “I occasionally swank a little because people like it; a modest man is such a nuisance.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A tongue‑in‑cheek confession that boasting is enjoyable, while modesty is portrayed as a nuisance. **In simple terms:** Boasting feels good; modesty is annoying. Key Takeaway Balance confidence with humility. Themes confidence pride humor social norms Mood witty playful Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - public speaking - personal branding - leadership training Key Concepts self‑presentation ego social interaction Questions to Reflect On - When does confidence become arrogance? - Why is modesty undervalued? A Different Perspective Boasting can alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Man Nuisance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-nuisance-3700766/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Modest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modest/) [Modest Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modest-man-1218722/) [Nuisance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuisance/) [Occasionally Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasionally-swank-3700765/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swank/) [Swank Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swank-little-3700767/) ## Related quotes > [Coffee: Induces wit. Good only if it comes through Havre. After a big dinner party it is taken standing up. Take it without sugar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/coffee-induces-wit-good-only-if-it-comes-through-havre-after-a-big/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [No-one gets beaten to death quite like Hilary Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/no-one-gets-beaten-to-death-quite-like-hilary-swank/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [We were ensconced as guests of the exclusive Beverly Hilton Hotel, an edifice so swank that the fire ax in the hall outside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-paar/we-were-ensconced-as-guests-of-the-exclusive-beverly-hilton-hotel-an/) [Jack Paar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-paar/) > [Boxing is fascinating. It's good for the soul to be made to feel clumsy. I swank around during the week thinking I'm a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/boxing-is-fascinating-it-s-good-for-the-soul-to-be-made-to-feel/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I see myself as a very successful entrepreneur. Maybe making films or else starting my own clothesline. I see myself as a corporate woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushmita-sen/i-see-myself-as-a-very-successful-entrepreneur-maybe-making-films-or/) [Sushmita Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushmita-sen/) > [“I like that this is your idea of formal dress, by the way. The same clothes as always, but recently laundered. Do you even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/i-like-that-this-is-your-idea-of-formal-dress-by-the-way-the-same/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [You've got to swank in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burton/you-ve-got-to-swank-in-hollywood/) [Richard Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burton/) > [Cheating is easy. There's no swank to infidelity. To borrow against the trust someone has placed in you costs nothing at first. You get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/cheating-is-easy-there-s-no-swank-to-infidelity-to-borrow-against-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Crew up, Nailer!" Lucky Girl shouted. "You think I'm going to pull your ass up here like a damn swank?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/crew-up-nailer-lucky-girl-shouted-you-think-i-m-going-to-pull-your/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [The educated man is a greater nuisance than the uneducated one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-educated-man-is-a-greater-nuisance-than-the-uneducated-one/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I find that the moment I let a woman make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a damned nuisance. I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-find-that-the-moment-i-let-a-woman-make-friends-with-me-she-becomes/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Women have been a ghastly nuisance in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/women-have-been-a-ghastly-nuisance-in-my-life/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Mr. Polopetsi is such a…such a modest man, even perhaps a bit mousy.” She transferred her gaze to Mma Ramotswe. “Not that I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/mr-polopetsi-is-such-a-such-a-modest-man-even-perhaps-a-bit-mousy-she/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [In this innate desire to share with one & only possible mate , the intimate secrets of love , the nothing of shame or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandan-kumar/in-this-innate-desire-to-share-with-one-only-possible-mate-the/) [Chandan Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandan-kumar/) > [The modest man has everything to gain, and the arrogant man everything to lose; for modesty has always to deal with generosity, and arrogance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-rivarol/the-modest-man-has-everything-to-gain-and-the-arrogant-man-everything/) [Antoine Rivarol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-rivarol/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Ego quotes > [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/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [I love playing ego and insecurity combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-love-playing-ego-and-insecurity-combined/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm a straight shooter, and most of the time my ego doesn't interrupt my relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-m-a-straight-shooter-and-most-of-the-time-my-ego-doesn-t-interrupt/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I hate acting when I see it. I don't want to feel it, I don't want to see it, I want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-hate-acting-when-i-see-it-i-don-t-want-to-feel-it-i-don-t-want-to/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-s-balsekar/the-man-of-wisdom-is-devoid-of-ego-even-though-he-may-appear-to-use/) [Ramesh S Balsekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-s-balsekar/) > [Show me success without ego!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivana-trump/show-me-success-without-ego/) [Ivana Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivana-trump/) [Browse all 3,462 Ego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I occasionally swank a little because people like it; a modest man is such a nuisance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-people-like-it-a-modest-man-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ego" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-people-like-it-a-modest-man-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/george-bernard-shaw-68_ego_i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-pe_1215259.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I occasionally swank a little because people like it; a modest man is such a nuisance.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I occasionally swank a little because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-people-like-it-a-modest-man-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-occasionally-swank-a-little-because-people-like-it-a-modest-man-is/#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 } } ] } ```