--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is impossible for an Englishman to…" description: "\"It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg" --- # It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth… ![“It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg) > “It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.” [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. Englishmen inevitably provoke strong reactions from each other, highlighting cultural tension and rivalry. **In simple terms:** Englishmen often clash. Key Takeaway Be aware of cultural friction. Themes culture conflict identity Mood critical insightful Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - social gatherings - media commentary Key Concepts nationalism social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster mutual respect? - What fuels such rivalries? A Different Perspective Not all interactions are hostile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Pygmalion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pygmalion/) ## Related quotes > [The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. They spell it so abominably that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-english-have-no-respect-for-their-language-and-will-not-teach/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [ I think it impossible, utterly impossible, for any Englishman to live here \[in America\], and be happy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-think-it-impossible-utterly-impossible-for-any-englishman-to-live/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [It is easier to hate an enemy with much good in him than one who is all bad. We cannot hate those we despise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-easier-to-hate-an-enemy-with-much-good-in-him-than-one-who-is/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I hate him for himself, but despise him for the memories he revives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-hate-him-for-himself-but-despise-him-for-the-memories-he-revives/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/happy-is-the-man-who-can-make-a-living-by-his-hobby/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The great secret...is not having bad manners or good manners...but having the same manner for all human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-great-secret-is-not-having-bad-manners-or-good-manners-but-having/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Making Life means making trouble”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/making-life-means-making-trouble/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I wish to boast that Pygmalion has been an extremely successful play all over Europe and North America as well as at home. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-wish-to-boast-that-pygmalion-has-been-an-extremely-successful-play/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Galatea never does quite like Pygmalion: his relation to her is too godlike to be altogether agreeable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/galatea-never-does-quite-like-pygmalion-his-relation-to-her-is-too/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [If 'Pygmalion' is not good enough for your friends with its own verbal music, their talent must be altogether extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-pygmalion-is-not-good-enough-for-your-friends-with-its-own-verbal/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I don't want to talk grammar. I want to talk like a lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-don-t-want-to-talk-grammar-i-want-to-talk-like-a-lady/) [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/) > [“The weak may not be admired and hero-worshipped; but they are by no means disliked or shunned; and they never seem to have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-weak-may-not-be-admired-and-hero-worshipped-but-they-are-by-no/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“If an imaginative boy has a sufficiently rich mother who has intelligence, personal grace, dignity of character without harshness, and a cultivated sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-an-imaginative-boy-has-a-sufficiently-rich-mother-who-has/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [ “HIGGINS \[\*snatching a chocolate cream from the piano, his eyes suddenly beginning to twinkle with mischief\*\] Have some chocolates, Eliza. LIZA \[\*halting, tempted\*\] How… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/higgins-snatching-a-chocolate-cream-from-the-piano-his-eyes-suddenly/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## 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 Despise quotes > [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“You don’t know what it’s like to worry you’ll start to despise the people who help you, the ones you should love, because they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-guzeman/you-don-t-know-what-it-s-like-to-worry-you-ll-start-to-despise-the/) [Tracy Guzeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-guzeman/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Everyone has conscience enough to hate; few have religion enough to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/everyone-has-conscience-enough-to-hate-few-have-religion-enough-to/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I agree that biphobia is real, but I think it's absolutely worth considering that someone who "despises" having sex with her husband - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/i-agree-that-biphobia-is-real-but-i-think-it-s-absolutely-worth/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I despise a person of little mind - one might as well not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/i-despise-a-person-of-little-mind-one-might-as-well-not-have-any/) Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins > [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/with-the-single-exception-of-homer-there-is-no-eminent-writer-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I despise the pleasure of pleasing people that I despise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/i-despise-the-pleasure-of-pleasing-people-that-i-despise/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [It was beautiful and rare, and you have every right to despise me." She stood pressed to the wall, not moving. "When you came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-was-beautiful-and-rare-and-you-have-every-right-to-despise-me-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“I'm really starting to despise good -nights and good -byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mi-juan-yu-tu/i-m-really-starting-to-despise-good-nights-and-good-byes/) Mi Juan Yu tu > [But miserable most, to love unloved? This you should pity rather than despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-miserable-most-to-love-unloved-this-you-should-pity-rather-than/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 918 Despise quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-open-his-mouth-without-making/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despise" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-open-his-mouth-without-making/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/george-bernard-shaw-68_despise_it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-op_1132479.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.” — 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": "It is impossible for an Englishman...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-open-his-mouth-without-making/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-impossible-for-an-englishman-to-open-his-mouth-without-making/#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 } } ] } ```