--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine that you have to break someone's…" description: "\"“Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. Right or left, doesn't matter. The point is that you have to break it, because if you don't...well, that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png" --- # Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. Right or… ![“Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. Right or left, doesn't matter. The point is that you have to break it, because if you don't...well, that doesn't matter either. Let's just say bad things will happen if you don't. Now, my question goes like this: do you break the arm quickly -- snap…” quote by Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png) > ““Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. Right or left, doesn't matter. The point is that you have to break it, because if you don't...well, that doesn't matter either. Let's just say bad things will happen if you don't. Now, my question goes like this: do you break the arm quickly -- snap, whoops, sorry, here let me help you with that improvised splint -- or do you drag the whole business out for a good eight minutes, every now and then increasing the pressure in the tiniest of increments, until the pain becomes pink and green and hot and cold and altogether howlingly unbearable? Well exactly. Of course. The right thing to do, the only thing to do, is to get it over with as quickly as possible. Break the arm, ply the brandy, be a good citizen. There can be no other answer. Unless. Unless unless unless. What if you were to hate the person on the other end of the arm? I mean really, really hate them.”” [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) ## 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 argues that if a painful action is inevitable, it should be done swiftly rather than prolonged suffering, even if the target is despised. **In simple terms:** Do the painful thing quickly if it must be done. Key Takeaway Act quickly when forced to cause harm. Themes ethics pain decisionmaking Mood tense reflective Type philosophical ethical dialogue When to use this quote - medical emergencies - conflict resolution - personal grudges - stressful choices Key Concepts utilitarianism moral dilemma psychology Questions to Reflect On - Is it ever morally acceptable to cause pain for a perceived greater good? - How does personal hatred influence ethical decisions? A Different Perspective Prolonged harm may cause greater trauma than a brief, decisive act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-things/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) ## Related quotes > [“Imagine that you have to break someone’s arm. Right or left, doesn’t matter. The point is that you have to break it, because if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s-arm-right-or-left-doesn-t/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [Every man should arm himself as quickly as he could, and come to the King.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-william-chadwick-oman/every-man-should-arm-himself-as-quickly-as-he-could-and-come-to-the/) Charles William Chadwick Oman > [“His hand was… I held up my left arm, then my right. Yeah, that was him cupping my morning wood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/his-hand-was-i-held-up-my-left-arm-then-my-right-yeah-that-was-him/) [James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/) > [He has lost his left arm, but I my right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/he-has-lost-his-left-arm-but-i-my-right/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“It’s my place to stand beside you, and support you, and yes, just fucking look pretty on your arm sometimes. It’s my right, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/it-s-my-place-to-stand-beside-you-and-support-you-and-yes-just-2/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [In your arm is right where I wana be. where nothing else mater beside you and me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-your-arm-is-right-where-i-wana-be-where-nothing-else-mater-beside/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you make some comment even obliquely alluding to menstruation or menopause and its effect on my judgment," Murphy interrupted, "I will break your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/if-you-make-some-comment-even-obliquely-alluding-to-menstruation-or/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Punch any of mine, and I’ll break your arm off and beat you to death with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/punch-any-of-mine-and-i-ll-break-your-arm-off-and-beat-you-to-death/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“If I break my arm and If you break your arm too Then it is fun to have a broken arm...We show everybody and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandol-stoddard/if-i-break-my-arm-and-if-you-break-your-arm-too-then-it-is-fun-to/) Sandol Stoddard > [When you're mad at someone, it's probably best not to break his arm with a baseball bat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/when-you-re-mad-at-someone-it-s-probably-best-not-to-break-his-arm/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [“One morning Profane woke up early, couldn't get back to sleep and decided on a whim to spend the day like a yo-yo, shuttling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/one-morning-profane-woke-up-early-couldn-t-get-back-to-sleep-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [First of all, when you build a restaurant of that phenomenon-I really hate that word "set" and I hate the word "cast" -it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-ramsay/first-of-all-when-you-build-a-restaurant-of-that-phenomenon-i-really/) [Gordon Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-ramsay/) > [“New Rule: You don't have to teach both sides of a debate if one side is a load of crap. President Bush recently suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-you-don-t-have-to-teach-both-sides-of-a-debate-if-one-side/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Business runs hot and cold so the more you're in charge of your own destiny, the better off you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/business-runs-hot-and-cold-so-the-more-you-re-in-charge-of-your-own/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [“There are two kinds of anger: hot and cold. Boys and girls experience both, but as they grow up the anger separates according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/there-are-two-kinds-of-anger-hot-and-cold-boys-and-girls-experience/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) ## More by Hugh Laurie > [“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-i-think-in-life-to-wait-until-you-re-ready-i/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [Ideas are 10 a penny. It's the execution that's the hard thing to do. House is standing up against a tide of sentiment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/ideas-are-10-a-penny-it-s-the-execution-that-s-the-hard-thing-to-do/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [To be a head boy, you have to be very clever, you have to be a scholar, and I was never a scholar in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/to-be-a-head-boy-you-have-to-be-very-clever-you-have-to-be-a-scholar/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [To me, he's a hero, ... He's not polite. He's not someone you want to take home to meet your mother, necessarily. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/to-me-he-s-a-hero-he-s-not-polite-he-s-not-someone-you-want-to-take/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [People will survive, and they will find happiness. Happiness only comes when you're not looking for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/people-will-survive-and-they-will-find-happiness-happiness-only-comes/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [It alarms me to think of all that I have read and how little of it has stayed with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/it-alarms-me-to-think-of-all-that-i-have-read-and-how-little-of-it/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [This was the tricky bit. The really tricky bit, trickiness cubed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/this-was-the-tricky-bit-the-really-tricky-bit-trickiness-cubed/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [“We want different things. Men want to have sex with a woman. Then they want to have sex with another woman. And then another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/we-want-different-things-men-want-to-have-sex-with-a-woman-then-they/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I travel to work on my motorcycle, so it's jeans, boots and a brown Aero leather jacket that weighs as much as I do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-travel-to-work-on-my-motorcycle-so-it-s-jeans-boots-and-a-brown/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I just read an 800-page history of the Scottish Enlightenment and, honestly, I may as well just start it again now, because I cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-just-read-an-800-page-history-of-the-scottish-enlightenment-and/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [The only good thing I've ever noticed about money, the only positive aspect of an otherwise pretty vulgar commodity, is that you can use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/the-only-good-thing-i-ve-ever-noticed-about-money-the-only-positive/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [“Plus laid aussi qu'un parking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/plus-laid-aussi-qu-un-parking/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [I was too shy, I think, to sing publicly. It takes a particular kind of person. And when I was young, I was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-was-too-shy-i-think-to-sing-publicly-it-takes-a-particular-kind-of/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [Acting is largely about putting on masks, and music is about removing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/acting-is-largely-about-putting-on-masks-and-music-is-about-removing/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [“I said no thank you a dozen times, and fuck off once.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/i-said-no-thank-you-a-dozen-times-and-fuck-off-once/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) [Explore all 159 Hugh Laurie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) ## More Bad thing quotes > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [I've said it before, good people are forced to do bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-cloud/i-ve-said-it-before-good-people-are-forced-to-do-bad-things/) [Angus Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-cloud/) > [I think the people I talk about are generally so stupid that they don't even know I'm saying bad things about them. I've run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-think-the-people-i-talk-about-are-generally-so-stupid-that-they-don/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [One thing I always tell players is that there are three bad things: Nothing good happens after midnight, nothing good happens when you're around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-saban/one-thing-i-always-tell-players-is-that-there-are-three-bad-things/) [Nick Saban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-saban/) > [I'm not going to pretend that bad things don't happen. I just hope my daughter has enough understanding that when they do, just give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-krasinski/i-m-not-going-to-pretend-that-bad-things-don-t-happen-i-just-hope-my/) [John Krasinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-krasinski/) > [I've heard some pretty bad things in my life. I'm just one of those people I've gotten to a point where I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-bush/i-ve-heard-some-pretty-bad-things-in-my-life-i-m-just-one-of-those/) [Sophia Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-bush/) > [Like everybody, you get nights where you feel completely depressed. You start thinking about all the bad things and think about the glass half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/like-everybody-you-get-nights-where-you-feel-completely-depressed-you/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [Be Thankful for all things in life. Even for the bad things. SOMETIMES the worst situations in life turn out to be the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-thankful-for-all-things-in-life-even-for-the-bad-things-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In my business, you should be very strong in mind. You have to be sure about yourself and about your work and your career,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-shayk/in-my-business-you-should-be-very-strong-in-mind-you-have-to-be-sure/) [Irina Shayk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-shayk/) > [“I don’t know why I latched onto the idea of being friends, but it sits right with my gut. I want Hartley in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-watt/i-don-t-know-why-i-latched-onto-the-idea-of-being-friends-but-it-sits/) [Erin Watt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-watt/) > [I'm just grateful to people who are willing to admit how bad things feel for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-m-just-grateful-to-people-who-are-willing-to-admit-how-bad-things/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I love it when television is shot in a cinematic way and I think to aspire to that is no bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/i-love-it-when-television-is-shot-in-a-cinematic-way-and-i-think-to/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [“Dear Delphine, When you are older I want you to find Chinua Achebe. I want you to read Things Fall Apart. Don't be hardheaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-williams-garcia/dear-delphine-when-you-are-older-i-want-you-to-find-chinua-achebe-i/) [Rita Williams-Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-williams-garcia/) > [Lobbying is not a bad thing. I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't have lobbyists or we shouldn't have lobbying to petition our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/lobbying-is-not-a-bad-thing-i-m-not-trying-to-say-that-we-shouldn-t/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [In life, we don't know why things happen. I believe God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to you. Sometimes I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/in-life-we-don-t-know-why-things-happen-i-believe-god-is-not/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) Browse all 2,889 Bad thing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. Right or left, doesn't matter. The point is that you have to break it, because if you don't...well, that doesn't matter either. Let's just say bad things will happen if you don't. Now, my question goes like this: do you break the arm quickly -- snap, whoops, sorry, here let me help you with that improvised splint -- or do you drag the whole business out for a good eight minutes, every now and then increasing the pressure in the tiniest of increments, until the pain becomes pink and green and hot and cold and altogether howlingly unbearable? Well exactly. Of course. The right thing to do, the only thing to do, is to get it over with as quickly as possible. Break the arm, ply the brandy, be a good citizen. There can be no other answer. Unless. Unless unless unless. What if you were to hate the person on the other end of the arm? I mean really, really hate them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugh Laurie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s-arm-right-or-left-doesn-t-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad thing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s-arm-right-or-left-doesn-t-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/hugh-laurie-2413_bad-thing_imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s_2510830.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagine that you have to break someone's arm. Right or left, doesn't matter. The point is that you have to…” — Hugh Laurie", "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": "Hugh Laurie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Imagine that you have to break...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s-arm-right-or-left-doesn-t-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/imagine-that-you-have-to-break-someone-s-arm-right-or-left-doesn-t-2/#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 } } ] } ```