--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A fool or idiot is one who expects things…" description: "\"A fool or idiot is one who expects things to happen that never can happen.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png" --- # A fool or idiot is one who expects things to happen that… ![“A fool or idiot is one who expects things to happen that never can happen.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png) > “A fool or idiot is one who expects things to happen that never can happen.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who unrealistically expect impossible outcomes set themselves up for disappointment and inaction. **In simple terms:** Unrealistic expectations lead to frustration. Key Takeaway Align expectations with reality. Themes expectations realism disappointment folly Mood reflective cautious pragmatic Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal goal planning - career development - relationship expectations Key Concepts cognitive bias optimism bias goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What expectations are truly impossible? - When is dreaming beneficial? A Different Perspective The quote may ignore the value of visionary thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expects/) [Expects Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expects-things-3595916/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-idiot-2009762/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Idiot Expects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot-expects-4428609/) ## Related quotes > [The Lord expects you to do some things for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/the-lord-expects-you-to-do-some-things-for-yourself/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [Society expects things of leading companies and sometimes we should take a stance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/society-expects-things-of-leading-companies-and-sometimes-we-should/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [Thibs is a guy that... just expects a certain level of professionalism, he expects you to do things the right way, be prepared and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-randle/thibs-is-a-guy-that-just-expects-a-certain-level-of-professionalism/) [Julius Randle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-randle/) > [“Ned knew what it was like to feel useless. He had been the expendable grandchild, the non-heir. He'd been the fool, the idiot, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-milan/ned-knew-what-it-was-like-to-feel-useless-he-had-been-the-expendable/) [Courtney Milan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-milan/) > [“Thera started sputtering. "You fool. You idiot." She stopped because Blaethe's response was much pithier and far more creative. She nodded approvingly. "What he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/thera-started-sputtering-you-fool-you-idiot-she-stopped-because/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) > [Love is not how wise and top student you are.because sometimes you are fool and idiot when its comes to love..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/love-is-not-how-wise-and-top-student-you-are-because-sometimes-you/) [Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/) > [A man that extols himself is a fool and an idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/a-man-that-extols-himself-is-a-fool-and-an-idiot/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [To be looked upon as a fool by an idiot is a true connoisseur's delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-courteline/to-be-looked-upon-as-a-fool-by-an-idiot-is-a-true-connoisseur-s/) [Georges Courteline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-courteline/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [A true friend is someone who you can act like a complete idiot in front of and not be the slightest bit embarrassed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-true-friend-is-someone-who-you-can-act-like-a-complete-idiot-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [You do not want to talk to me on the phone. How do I know? Because I don't want to talk to you on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/you-do-not-want-to-talk-to-me-on-the-phone-how-do-i-know-because-i/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [“Everybody wants something, and everybody expects something. They never ask how I'm doing or if I'm happy. They don't ask what I want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-sexton/everybody-wants-something-and-everybody-expects-something-they-never/) [Marie Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-sexton/) > [God has a plan for all of us, but He expects us to do our share of the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-pearl/god-has-a-plan-for-all-of-us-but-he-expects-us-to-do-our-share-of-the/) [Minnie Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-pearl/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Expects quotes > [God has a plan for all of us, but He expects us to do our share of the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-pearl/god-has-a-plan-for-all-of-us-but-he-expects-us-to-do-our-share-of-the/) [Minnie Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-pearl/) > [“Everybody wants something, and everybody expects something. They never ask how I'm doing or if I'm happy. They don't ask what I want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-sexton/everybody-wants-something-and-everybody-expects-something-they-never/) [Marie Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-sexton/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [You do not want to talk to me on the phone. How do I know? Because I don't want to talk to you on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/you-do-not-want-to-talk-to-me-on-the-phone-how-do-i-know-because-i/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [You know you can do more, but everyone expects you to quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/you-know-you-can-do-more-but-everyone-expects-you-to-quit/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [I'm not sure if men really understand this, but I don't think there's a woman in America who really expects her life to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-romney/i-m-not-sure-if-men-really-understand-this-but-i-don-t-think-there-s/) [Ann Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-romney/) > [Wishing will not make it so. The Lord expects our thinking. He expects our action. He expects our labors. He expects our testimonies. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/wishing-will-not-make-it-so-the-lord-expects-our-thinking-he-expects/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [If some people try to make a prenup into a pre-negotiation of a divorce... Well, that's really sad. But I do think that it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wasser/if-some-people-try-to-make-a-prenup-into-a-pre-negotiation-of-a/) [Laura Wasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wasser/) > [“A critic is a man who expects miracles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-critic-is-a-man-who-expects-miracles/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“New York just expects so much from a girl—acts like it can’t stand even the idea of a wasted talent or opportunity. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/new-york-just-expects-so-much-from-a-girl-acts-like-it-can-t-stand/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Hmmm! everything in live expects something in return, but certain relations gives you alot if you just respect them tc n ks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sardar-hyder-abbas/hmmm-everything-in-live-expects-something-in-return-but-certain/) [Sardar Hyder Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sardar-hyder-abbas/) > [A cinephile is someone who expects too much of cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-daney/a-cinephile-is-someone-who-expects-too-much-of-cinema/) [Serge Daney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-daney/) > [We are a small nation that nobody expects anything of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gylfi-sigurdsson/we-are-a-small-nation-that-nobody-expects-anything-of/) [Gylfi Sigurdsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gylfi-sigurdsson/) > [Clint Eastwood expects you to know what you're doing. He's going to take two giant steps back and let you do it. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/clint-eastwood-expects-you-to-know-what-you-re-doing-he-s-going-to/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [No one really expects me to do anything offensively. But I expect a little more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-hardy/no-one-really-expects-me-to-do-anything-offensively-but-i-expect-a/) [J. J. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-hardy/) [Browse all 112 Expects quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expects/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A fool or idiot is one who expects things to happen that never can happen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-things-to-happen-that-never-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expects" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-things-to-happen-that-never-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c28/george-eliot-84_expects_a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-thing_525866.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A fool or idiot is one who expects things to happen that never can happen.” — George Eliot", "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 Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A fool or idiot is one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-things-to-happen-that-never-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/a-fool-or-idiot-is-one-who-expects-things-to-happen-that-never-can/#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 } } ] } ```