--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Compliments always take you by surprise…" description: "\"“Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.”\" — Jane Austen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg" --- # Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never. ![“Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg) > ““Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.”” [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected praise can catch you off guard, revealing humility and self‑awareness. **In simple terms:** Surprises in compliments reveal humility. Key Takeaway Embrace unexpected praise gracefully. Themes humility self‑awareness communication Mood thoughtful reflective Type observational conversational When to use this quote - social gatherings - professional feedback - personal relationships Key Concepts social dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when praised unexpectedly? - Do you accept compliments at face value? A Different Perspective Compliments may be insincere or manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compliments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliments/) [Compliments Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliments-surprise-4923003/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [Did not you? I did for you. But that is one great difference between us. Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/did-not-you-i-did-for-you-but-that-is-one-great-difference-between-us/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“But you must give my compliments to him. Yes — I think it must be compliments. Is not there a something wanted, Miss Price,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-you-must-give-my-compliments-to-him-yes-i-think-it-must-be/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Is there not something wanted, Miss Price, in our language - a something between compliments and - and love - to suit the sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/is-there-not-something-wanted-miss-price-in-our-language-a-something/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/elinor-agreed-to-it-all-for-she-did-not-think-he-deserved-the/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I make it a rule always to believe compliments implicitly for five minutes, and to simmer gently for twenty more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-james/i-make-it-a-rule-always-to-believe-compliments-implicitly-for-five/) [Alice James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-james/) > [Compliments of congratulation are always kindly taken, and cost nothing but pen, ink and paper. I consider them as draughts upon good breeding, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/compliments-of-congratulation-are-always-kindly-taken-and-cost/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“Eye Contact. Direct eye contact is one of the best compliments you can give to another. You are subliminally telling them that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/eye-contact-direct-eye-contact-is-one-of-the-best-compliments-you-can/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“Thank you—for all your compliments about the general badassery of my family’s DNA.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/thank-you-for-all-your-compliments-about-the-general-badassery-of-my/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [“Once you tell a man he's pretty, there's no taking it back. They think they're pretty all the time, and I suppose, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros-author/once-you-tell-a-man-he-s-pretty-there-s-no-taking-it-back-they-think/) [Sandra Cisneros (Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros-author/) > [It takes a million compliments to build you up, but one insult to send it all crashing down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-a-million-compliments-to-build-you-up-but-one-insult-to-send/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Before pursuing a new relationship, you should never look for someone to complete you, a relationship consists of two whole individuals, look for someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/before-pursuing-a-new-relationship-you-should-never-look-for-someone/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [You know.. It honestly feels kinda good when a guy compliments me.. Even if they know stupid stuff about me.. It makes me realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/you-know-it-honestly-feels-kinda-good-when-a-guy-compliments-me-even/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [I've got the public. I don't care about the critics. I did at one time. I don't any more. I did when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-got-the-public-i-don-t-care-about-the-critics-i-did-at-one-time/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [You know you've been put down alot when you handle insults better than you do compliments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daviddave/you-know-you-ve-been-put-down-alot-when-you-handle-insults-better/) [Daviddave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daviddave/) > [Virgos can tell when people are fishing for compliments, and we won't give it to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/virgos-can-tell-when-people-are-fishing-for-compliments-and-we-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jane Austen > [Let us have the luxury of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/let-us-have-the-luxury-of-silence/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“How earnestly did she then wish that her former opinions had been more reasonable, more moderate!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/how-earnestly-did-she-then-wish-that-her-former-opinions-had-been/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“it is very well worth-while to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-very-well-worth-while-to-be-tormented-for-two-or-three-years-of/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [ “Everybody is taken in at some period or another. \[...\] In marriage especially. \[...\] There is not one in a hundred of either sex,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/everybody-is-taken-in-at-some-period-or-another-in-marriage/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [She knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next: that with them, to wish was to hope, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-knew-that-what-marianne-and-her-mother-conjectured-one-moment/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“…for I look upon the Frasers to be about as unhappy as most other married people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/for-i-look-upon-the-frasers-to-be-about-as-unhappy-as-most-other/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“It raises my spleen more than any thing, to have the pretence of being asked, of being given a choice, and at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-raises-my-spleen-more-than-any-thing-to-have-the-pretence-of-being/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [her spirits wanted the solitude and silence which only numbers could give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/her-spirits-wanted-the-solitude-and-silence-which-only-numbers-could/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“But in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-in-such-cases-as-these-a-good-memory-is-unpardonable/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“...the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-pleasantness-of-an-employment-does-not-always-evince-its-propriety/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“I must tell you what you will not ask, though I may wish it unsaid the next moment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-must-tell-you-what-you-will-not-ask-though-i-may-wish-it-unsaid-the/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/lady-catherine-seemed-quite-astonished-at-not-receiving-a-direct/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“He had suffered, and he had learnt to think, two advantages that he had never known before…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/he-had-suffered-and-he-had-learnt-to-think-two-advantages-that-he-had/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Eliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/vanity-was-the-beginning-and-the-end-of-sir-walter-eliot-s-character/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Explore all 2,013 Jane Austen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## More Compliments quotes > [Virgos can tell when people are fishing for compliments, and we won't give it to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/virgos-can-tell-when-people-are-fishing-for-compliments-and-we-won-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know you've been put down alot when you handle insults better than you do compliments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daviddave/you-know-you-ve-been-put-down-alot-when-you-handle-insults-better/) [Daviddave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daviddave/) > [I've got the public. I don't care about the critics. I did at one time. I don't any more. I did when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-got-the-public-i-don-t-care-about-the-critics-i-did-at-one-time/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [You know.. It honestly feels kinda good when a guy compliments me.. Even if they know stupid stuff about me.. It makes me realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/you-know-it-honestly-feels-kinda-good-when-a-guy-compliments-me-even/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [Before pursuing a new relationship, you should never look for someone to complete you, a relationship consists of two whole individuals, look for someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/before-pursuing-a-new-relationship-you-should-never-look-for-someone/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [It takes a million compliments to build you up, but one insult to send it all crashing down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-a-million-compliments-to-build-you-up-but-one-insult-to-send/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once you tell a man he's pretty, there's no taking it back. They think they're pretty all the time, and I suppose, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros-author/once-you-tell-a-man-he-s-pretty-there-s-no-taking-it-back-they-think/) [Sandra Cisneros (Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros-author/) > [“Thank you—for all your compliments about the general badassery of my family’s DNA.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/thank-you-for-all-your-compliments-about-the-general-badassery-of-my/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [“Eye Contact. Direct eye contact is one of the best compliments you can give to another. You are subliminally telling them that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/eye-contact-direct-eye-contact-is-one-of-the-best-compliments-you-can/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [Compliments of congratulation are always kindly taken, and cost nothing but pen, ink and paper. I consider them as draughts upon good breeding, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/compliments-of-congratulation-are-always-kindly-taken-and-cost/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [I make it a rule always to believe compliments implicitly for five minutes, and to simmer gently for twenty more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-james/i-make-it-a-rule-always-to-believe-compliments-implicitly-for-five/) [Alice James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-james/) > [I just think it's silly to be stingy with compliments. If you see someone and they strike you as beautiful in any way, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/i-just-think-it-s-silly-to-be-stingy-with-compliments-if-you-see/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [I love your bracelet!’ I said to the brunette next to me, because, while most girls are onto the whole stranger-with-candy thing, the strangers-with-compliments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/i-love-your-bracelet-i-said-to-the-brunette-next-to-me-because-while/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [I might be too strung out on compliments. overdosed on confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-might-be-too-strung-out-on-compliments-overdosed-on-confidence/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [All girlfriends want their boyfriends to call them beautiful everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-girlfriends-want-their-boyfriends-to-call-them-beautiful-everyday/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 457 Compliments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise-and-me-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compliments" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise-and-me-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/jane-austen-39_quote_compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise_1403219.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.” — Jane Austen", "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": "Jane Austen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise-and-me-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/compliments-always-take-you-by-surprise-and-me-never/#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 } } ] } ```