--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It could not have been ten seconds, and…" description: "\"It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a long time that their hands were clasped together. He had time to learn every detail of her hand..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg" --- # It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a… ![“It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a long time that their hands were clasped together. He had time to learn every detail of her hand.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg) > “It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a long time that their hands were clasped together. He had time to learn every detail of her hand.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A brief, intense moment feels prolonged when intimacy deepens, highlighting how time stretches in emotional connection. **In simple terms:** Time feels longer during intimate moments. Key Takeaway Savor intimate moments. Themes intimacy perception of time emotion Mood reflective intimate Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - first dates - confessions - deep conversations Key Concepts psychology subjective time human connection Questions to Reflect On - How does intimacy alter your perception of time? - What moments feel longer than they are? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Most of the moments of our life - and I calculated, you know, the psychological present is said to be about three seconds long;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/most-of-the-moments-of-our-life-and-i-calculated-you-know-the/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Thirty seconds can be very long sometimes. Long enough to work a miracle or a revolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/thirty-seconds-can-be-very-long-sometimes-long-enough-to-work-a/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“If I told you I love you now How many seconds would it take How long would you allow All that I am to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/if-i-told-you-i-love-you-now-how-many-seconds-would-it-take-how-long/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [I saw a commercial for an above-ground pool, it was 30 seconds long. Because that's the maximum amount of time you can picture yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-saw-a-commercial-for-an-above-ground-pool-it-was-30-seconds-long/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [“When you choose a man who thinks eight seconds is a long time, perhaps you need two of them. Hmm?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-johnson/when-you-choose-a-man-who-thinks-eight-seconds-is-a-long-time-perhaps/) [Cat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-johnson/) > [Five seconds is a long time when it comes to basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-reaves/five-seconds-is-a-long-time-when-it-comes-to-basketball/) [Austin Reaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-reaves/) > [“If you can, I implore you to watch this scene. It’s seven seconds long. Three hours. Thirty-two takes. And it was only the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/if-you-can-i-implore-you-to-watch-this-scene-it-s-seven-seconds-long/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [I think a lot of people have too much time on their hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-gottfried/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-too-much-time-on-their-hands/) [Gilbert Gottfried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-gottfried/) > [“Time’s Flying,” said Dad. He Smiled. He pointed to the air. “There it is, flying past! Catch it!” And he jumped, and caught Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/time-s-flying-said-dad-he-smiled-he-pointed-to-the-air-there-it-is/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [“Time heals, after all- although the clock that marks that kind of time has no hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-rotolo/time-heals-after-all-although-the-clock-that-marks-that-kind-of-time/) Suze Rotolo > [Tact is for people with too much damned time on their hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-greiman/tact-is-for-people-with-too-much-damned-time-on-their-hands/) [Lois Greiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-greiman/) > [“It just seems like the more time I have on my hands, the less I do with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-vincent-lincir/it-just-seems-like-the-more-time-i-have-on-my-hands-the-less-i-do/) [Mark Vincent Lincir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-vincent-lincir/) > [“The dial of the clock wears out unevenly; Most worn Is the area round eight. As it is stared at with abrasive glances unfailingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-kobo/the-dial-of-the-clock-wears-out-unevenly-most-worn-is-the-area-round/) [Abe Kōbō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-kobo/) > [People who never have any time on their hands are those who do the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-who-never-have-any-time-on-their-hands-are-those-who-do-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [It doesn't help that we are three generations of actresses, who are always obsessed with losing time. But on the other side, historically, women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-doillon/it-doesn-t-help-that-we-are-three-generations-of-actresses-who-are/) [Lou Doillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-doillon/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Details quotes > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [The more I trust you, the less details I need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-trust-you-the-less-details-i-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [The first track is the end of a string. At the far end, a being is moving; a mystery, dropping a hint about itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brown-jr/the-first-track-is-the-end-of-a-string-at-the-far-end-a-being-is/) [Tom Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brown-jr/) > [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [Our thoughts are either focused on what's eternal, life-changing, and true, or lost in the details of our temporary, selfish, false beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/our-thoughts-are-either-focused-on-what-s-eternal-life-changing-and/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened, .. False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [The Science Delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality in principle leaving only the details to be filled in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-science-delusion-is-the-belief-that-science-already-understands/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/it-takes-a-little-more-time-to-get-into-the-role-but-not-very-much/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) > [We're still working out the details, but I'd be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-ziyi/we-re-still-working-out-the-details-but-i-d-be-delighted-to-do-the/) [Zhang Ziyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-ziyi/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. I follow dreams, take notes on travels, and engage in research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-get-worked-up-over-an-idea-or-the-ethos-of-an-idea-i-follow-dreams/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [We don't always know the details of our future. We do not know what lies ahead. We live in a time of uncertainty. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-don-t-always-know-the-details-of-our-future-we-do-not-know-what/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) Browse all 2,442 Details quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a long time that their hands were clasped together. He had time to learn every detail of her hand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-yet-it-seemed-a-long-time-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Details" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-yet-it-seemed-a-long-time-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/george-orwell-57_details_it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-y_1040164.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It could not have been ten seconds, and yet it seemed a long time that their hands were clasped together. He…” — George Orwell", "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 Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It could not have been ten...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-yet-it-seemed-a-long-time-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-could-not-have-been-ten-seconds-and-yet-it-seemed-a-long-time-that/#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 } } ] } ```