--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He never looked great but he's dreadful…" description: "\"“He never looked great but he's dreadful now, face thin and eyes staring like you see in cartoons of mad imams and hunched over. If that's what God doe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg" --- # He never looked great but he's dreadful now, face thin and… ![“He never looked great but he's dreadful now, face thin and eyes staring like you see in cartoons of mad imams and hunched over. If that's what God does to you you should pick your friends more carefully.” quote by Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg) > ““He never looked great but he's dreadful now, face thin and eyes staring like you see in cartoons of mad imams and hunched over. If that's what God does to you you should pick your friends more carefully.”” [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that neglecting to choose friends wisely can lead to personal ruin. **In simple terms:** Choose friends carefully to avoid bad outcomes. Key Takeaway Guard your circle. Themes friendship trust consequences Mood cautious reflective Type advice warning When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - social circles Key Concepts social influence personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate a friend's character? - What signs indicate a harmful friendship? A Different Perspective Friendship choices are complex and not solely based on appearance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choosing-friends-wisely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choosing-friends-wisely-31731/) [Dreadful Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreadful-face-4036615/) [Friends Carefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-carefully-578457/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Hunched God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunched-god-4036616/) [Imams Hunched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imams-hunched-4036617/) [Mad Imams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad-imams-4036618/) [Prophets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophets/) ## Related quotes > [“Always make an effort to be around people who will help you grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/always-make-an-effort-to-be-around-people-who-will-help-you-grow/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [“There are two kinds of friendship: the beneficial friendship and the erroneous friendship. The erroneous friendship balances on the principle of "the closer we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/there-are-two-kinds-of-friendship-the-beneficial-friendship-and-the-2/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“Life chooses your acquaintances, but you must choose your friends. My advice: choose wisely!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastien-richard/life-chooses-your-acquaintances-but-you-must-choose-your-friends-my/) [Sebastien Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastien-richard/) > [Choose your friends carefully, and even more importantly choose your enemies wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-your-friends-carefully-and-even-more-importantly-choose-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Choose your friends carefully. They are the ones who tag you in photos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-your-friends-carefully-they-are-the-ones-who-tag-you-in-photos/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My parents always told me to choose my friends very carefully and I learnt to live by that advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanushree-dutta/my-parents-always-told-me-to-choose-my-friends-very-carefully-and-i/) [Tanushree Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanushree-dutta/) > [Choose your friends carefully. Your enemies will choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-your-friends-carefully-your-enemies-will-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/to-avoid-being-mistaken-for-a-sellout-i-chose-my-friends-carefully/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Friends are like television. Some are like PBS and always asking for money, others are like the news with sad tales to tell every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-chable/friends-are-like-television-some-are-like-pbs-and-always-asking-for-2/) [Ana Chable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-chable/) > [Choose your friends carefully. They are a reflection of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-george/choose-your-friends-carefully-they-are-a-reflection-of-you/) [Jim George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-george/) > [“Choose friends carefully: the power of association First”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/choose-friends-carefully-the-power-of-association-first/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [Your bestfriend can be your worst enemy, so treat your friends carefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahil-rathod/your-bestfriend-can-be-your-worst-enemy-so-treat-your-friends/) [Sahil Rathod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahil-rathod/) > [Choose your friends carefully; I rather be picky than to pick the wrong friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-bryant/choose-your-friends-carefully-i-rather-be-picky-than-to-pick-the/) [Rasheed Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-bryant/) > [We all should choose our friends carefully. I used to think that no one could know me better than somebody else, because you're inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/we-all-should-choose-our-friends-carefully-i-used-to-think-that-no/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [“Choose your friends carefully but don’t worry about your enemies, they will choose you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-henegan/choose-your-friends-carefully-but-don-t-worry-about-your-enemies-they/) [Carl Henegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-henegan/) ## More by Ian McDonald > [“Najia can feel yts subdermal activators against her forearm. Not man not woman not both not neither. Nute. Another way of being human, speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/najia-can-feel-yts-subdermal-activators-against-her-forearm-not-man/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“Is this a Kurdish thing?’ ‘What?’ ‘Being deliberately contradictory?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/is-this-a-kurdish-thing-what-being-deliberately-contradictory/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“And how did you find the East?’ ‘It’s a shit-hole. But it’s our shit-hole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/and-how-did-you-find-the-east-it-s-a-shit-hole-but-it-s-our-shit-hole/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“A joyful task,’ he says and she realizes that he welcomes the idea of years of searching, tile by tile, inscription by inscription, cornice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/a-joyful-task-he-says-and-she-realizes-that-he-welcomes-the-idea-of/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“It's the superhero problem . . . .Superpowers make everything personal. Batman versus Joker. Fantastic Four versus Galactus. The Big G might be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/it-s-the-superhero-problem-superpowers-make-everything-personal/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“Water splashes and runs in a film across the glass floor suspended above the mosaics. The Hacı Kadın hamam is a typical post-Union fusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/water-splashes-and-runs-in-a-film-across-the-glass-floor-suspended/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“Marcelina loved that miniscule, precise moment when the needle entered her face. It was silver; it was pure. It was the violence that healed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/marcelina-loved-that-miniscule-precise-moment-when-the-needle-entered/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“If there is one thing will kill Turkey,’ she would say, ‘it is a famine of ideas.’ No one in her coterie dared mention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/if-there-is-one-thing-will-kill-turkey-she-would-say-it-is-a-famine/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [The geek of the Earth are a tribe and they are mighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/the-geek-of-the-earth-are-a-tribe-and-they-are-mighty/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“In our five thousand years of civilization, our history has often been the handmaid of geography. We lie exactly midway between the North Pole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/in-our-five-thousand-years-of-civilization-our-history-has-often-been/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“I do rather like birds,’ Abdullah Unul says. ‘They’re busy, active little things. They make do. Have you ever thought, if Istanbul were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/i-do-rather-like-birds-abdullah-unul-says-they-re-busy-active-little/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“The army doctor who had patched up his hands and examined him after the rescue at Kayişdaği told him a story about the Mevlana,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/the-army-doctor-who-had-patched-up-his-hands-and-examined-him-after/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“This is always always always what she wished a bazaar to be. Demre, proudly claiming to be the birthplace of Santa Claus, was direly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/this-is-always-always-always-what-she-wished-a-bazaar-to-be-demre/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [“It is a fake, but a good fake. Turkey is the land of the masterful fake. But it is far far from that hateful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/it-is-a-fake-but-a-good-fake-turkey-is-the-land-of-the-masterful-fake/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) > [In the Age of Kali the meek and helpless will be preyed upon without mercy, and there will be a surplus of AK-47s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/in-the-age-of-kali-the-meek-and-helpless-will-be-preyed-upon-without/) [Ian McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) [Explore all 43 Ian McDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/) ## More Choosing-friends-wisely quotes > [“Always make an effort to be around people who will help you grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/always-make-an-effort-to-be-around-people-who-will-help-you-grow/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [“Life chooses your acquaintances, but you must choose your friends. My advice: choose wisely!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastien-richard/life-chooses-your-acquaintances-but-you-must-choose-your-friends-my/) [Sebastien Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastien-richard/) > [“There are two kinds of friendship: the beneficial friendship and the erroneous friendship. The erroneous friendship balances on the principle of "the closer we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/there-are-two-kinds-of-friendship-the-beneficial-friendship-and-the-2/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) [Browse all 4 Choosing-friends-wisely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choosing-friends-wisely-31731/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He never looked great but he's dreadful now, face thin and eyes staring like you see in cartoons of mad imams and hunched over. If that's what God does to you you should pick your friends more carefully.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian McDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful-now-face-thin-and-eyes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choosing-friends-wisely" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful-now-face-thin-and-eyes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/ian-mcdonald-14570_choosing-friends-wis_he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful_2887514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He never looked great but he's dreadful now, face thin and eyes staring like you see in cartoons of mad…” — Ian McDonald", "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": "Ian McDonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He never looked great but he's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful-now-face-thin-and-eyes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdonald/he-never-looked-great-but-he-s-dreadful-now-face-thin-and-eyes/#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 } } ] } ```