--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay…" description: "\"“He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay, Kemp,” he said with a grin. “Thanks a lot – you came through like a champ.” “Hell,” I said, starting the engine...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg" --- # He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay, Kemp,” he said with… ![“He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay, Kemp,” he said with a grin. “Thanks a lot – you came through like a champ.” “Hell,” I said, starting the engine. “We’re all champs when we’re drunk.” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg) > ““He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay, Kemp,” he said with a grin. “Thanks a lot – you came through like a champ.” “Hell,” I said, starting the engine. “We’re all champs when we’re drunk.”” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## 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, sarcastic exchange showing camaraderie and reckless confidence among friends under the influence. **In simple terms:** Friends joke about being champions when drunk. Key Takeaway Embrace humor, but stay aware of excess. Themes friendship recklessness humor Mood wry irreverent Type anecdotal conversational When to use this quote - road trips - late night drives - celebrations - after‑work drinks Key Concepts camaraderie confidence drunkenness Questions to Reflect On - How does alcohol affect your sense of competence? - When does joking become denial? A Different Perspective The banter may mask deeper issues of responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“He gave a final shake of his coat. I go to the hunt!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/he-gave-a-final-shake-of-his-coat-i-go-to-the-hunt/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kerrigan/part-of-being-a-champ-is-acting-like-a-champ-you-have-to-learn-how-to/) [Nancy Kerrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kerrigan/) > [Play like a champ. Win like a champ. Act like a champ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-henderson/play-like-a-champ-win-like-a-champ-act-like-a-champ/) [Jordan Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-henderson/) > [I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/i-was-competitive-in-the-ring-and-hip-hop-is-competitive-too-i-think/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kerrigan/part-of-being-a-champ-is-acting-like-a-champ-you-have-to-learn-how-to-2/) [Nancy Kerrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kerrigan/) > [“I’d spurned a king and had the nerve to suggest that he turn the other cheek and take it like a champ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-bonilla/i-d-spurned-a-king-and-had-the-nerve-to-suggest-that-he-turn-the/) [Amanda Bonilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-bonilla/) > [I want to be like the athletes who seem stuck in time. When you see them at 50, you say they probably can still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-want-to-be-like-the-athletes-who-seem-stuck-in-time-when-you-see/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More Like Champ quotes > [Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kerrigan/part-of-being-a-champ-is-acting-like-a-champ-you-have-to-learn-how-to/) [Nancy Kerrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kerrigan/) > [Play like a champ. Win like a champ. Act like a champ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-henderson/play-like-a-champ-win-like-a-champ-act-like-a-champ/) [Jordan Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-henderson/) > [I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/i-was-competitive-in-the-ring-and-hip-hop-is-competitive-too-i-think/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kerrigan/part-of-being-a-champ-is-acting-like-a-champ-you-have-to-learn-how-to-2/) [Nancy Kerrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kerrigan/) > [“I’d spurned a king and had the nerve to suggest that he turn the other cheek and take it like a champ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-bonilla/i-d-spurned-a-king-and-had-the-nerve-to-suggest-that-he-turn-the/) [Amanda Bonilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-bonilla/) > [I want to be like the athletes who seem stuck in time. When you see them at 50, you say they probably can still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-want-to-be-like-the-athletes-who-seem-stuck-in-time-when-you-see/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) Browse all 7 Like Champ quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay, Kemp,” he said with a grin. “Thanks a lot – you came through like a champ.” “Hell,” I said, starting the engine. “We’re all champs when we’re drunk.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hunter S. Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp-he-said-with-a-grin-thanks-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Like Champ" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp-he-said-with-a-grin-thanks-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a5/hunter-s-thompson-278_quote_he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp_1495162.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He gave my hand a final shake. “Okay, Kemp,” he said with a grin. “Thanks a lot – you came through like a…” — Hunter S. Thompson", "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": "Hunter S. Thompson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He gave my hand a final...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp-he-said-with-a-grin-thanks-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-gave-my-hand-a-final-shake-okay-kemp-he-said-with-a-grin-thanks-a/#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 } } ] } ```