--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's nothing wrong with keeping your…" description: "\"There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you don't have anything nice to say.\" — Jennifer Weiner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png" --- # There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you… ![“There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you don't have anything nice to say.” quote by Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png) > “There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you don't have anything nice to say.” [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence is preferable when words would be harmful or unkind. **In simple terms:** Speak only if kind. Key Takeaway Choose silence over hurtful speech. Themes communication kindness self‑control Mood thoughtful cautious Type ethical reflective When to use this quote - relationships - conflict resolution - public speaking - personal boundaries Key Concepts ethics social interaction Questions to Reflect On - When is speaking better than silence? - How do you decide what to say? A Different Perspective Silence may be misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [You're almost always better off keeping your mouth shut, but don't let that stop you from popping off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/you-re-almost-always-better-off-keeping-your-mouth-shut-but-don-t-let/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [In some cases is keeping your mouth shut the best answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-some-cases-is-keeping-your-mouth-shut-the-best-answer/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I won this award for keeping my mouth shut, so I think I'll do it again now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wyman/i-won-this-award-for-keeping-my-mouth-shut-so-i-think-i-ll-do-it/) [Jane Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wyman/) > [X + Y + Z X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/x-y-z-x-is-work-y-is-play-z-is-keep-your-mouth-shut/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A special skill, like speaking several languages, or keeping your mouth shut in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/a-special-skill-like-speaking-several-languages-or-keeping-your-mouth/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Half of seeming clever is keeping your mouth shut at the right times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/half-of-seeming-clever-is-keeping-your-mouth-shut-at-the-right-times/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [One of the hardest things in the world is keeping your mouth shut when you know something needs to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/one-of-the-hardest-things-in-the-world-is-keeping-your-mouth-shut/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I learned a lot about humility and patience, keeping my mouth shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-learned-a-lot-about-humility-and-patience-keeping-my-mouth-shut/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [I love a good argument and sometimes I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut if I think someone is wrong... I've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-love-a-good-argument-and-sometimes-i-have-a-hard-time-keeping-my/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [“She preferred keeping her mouth shut and appearing a fool to opening it and removing the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/she-preferred-keeping-her-mouth-shut-and-appearing-a-fool-to-opening/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [I have a problem keeping my mouth shut. I usually speak my mind. I'm trying to learn my lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hendricks/i-have-a-problem-keeping-my-mouth-shut-i-usually-speak-my-mind-i-m/) [Christina Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hendricks/) > [“Keeping your mouth shut whilst eating shit will get you far in life but your soul will die of starvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/keeping-your-mouth-shut-whilst-eating-shit-will-get-you-far-in-life/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“Keeping your mouth shut is a devastating weapon. Your silence will make your opponent want to babble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/keeping-your-mouth-shut-is-a-devastating-weapon-your-silence-will/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [I'm the undisputed champion of keeping my mouth shut and just sitting there like a piece of furniture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hamilton/i-m-the-undisputed-champion-of-keeping-my-mouth-shut-and-just-sitting/) [Steve Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hamilton/) > [I learned that when something just has to be said to move the discussion along, or broaden it or deepen it, if I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-learned-that-when-something-just-has-to-be-said-to-move-the/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## More by Jennifer Weiner > [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Right now women are using surrogates because they can't be pregnant. What worries me is the possibility that soon they'll use surrogates because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/right-now-women-are-using-surrogates-because-they-can-t-be-pregnant/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [I think I'm much more comfortable talking about other books than my own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-think-i-m-much-more-comfortable-talking-about-other-books-than-my/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [People will want you to behave a certain way, to make a certain choice because it reinforces the way they see the world...But you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/people-will-want-you-to-behave-a-certain-way-to-make-a-certain-choice/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Women are far and away the bigger consumers of fiction than men, but men are still far and away the more reviewed, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/women-are-far-and-away-the-bigger-consumers-of-fiction-than-men-but/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [My sense is that beautiful women are living in a different world than I am, and that it's a world with benefits but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/my-sense-is-that-beautiful-women-are-living-in-a-different-world-than/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [If you get the you-are-a-genius label, it can limit you. Because I'm not so scrutinized, I have more freedom. And that let's me write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/if-you-get-the-you-are-a-genius-label-it-can-limit-you-because-i-m/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [I also believe that if you're really a writer, you'll write, and that nobody could stop you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-also-believe-that-if-you-re-really-a-writer-you-ll-write-and-that/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [As many times as I told her she was beautiful, I know that she never believed me. As many times as I said it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/as-many-times-as-i-told-her-she-was-beautiful-i-know-that-she-never/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“How do you find happiness in a body like yours...like mine? How do you find courage to follow anything anywhere if you don't feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/how-do-you-find-happiness-in-a-body-like-yours-like-mine-how-do-you/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“seventeen, tells her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/seventeen-tells-her/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Maybe it stems from my newspaper-reporting days, but I took notes the whole time - getting the call, how I felt. As soon as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/maybe-it-stems-from-my-newspaper-reporting-days-but-i-took-notes-the/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [I'm going to continue writing. I'll always be a storyteller. But I'm also taking time to enjoy my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-m-going-to-continue-writing-i-ll-always-be-a-storyteller-but-i-m/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [She thought of what it would be like to grow up without the one certainty that every baby deseved - when I'm hurt or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/she-thought-of-what-it-would-be-like-to-grow-up-without-the-one/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [She hated the implied familiarity when customers requested things from her by name...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/she-hated-the-implied-familiarity-when-customers-requested-things/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) [Explore all 169 Jennifer Weiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you don't have anything nice to say.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Weiner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your-mouth-shut-if-you-don-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your-mouth-shut-if-you-don-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/jennifer-weiner-2358_ifs_there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your_2997245.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's nothing wrong with keeping your mouth shut if you don't have anything nice to say.” — Jennifer Weiner", "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": "Jennifer Weiner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's nothing wrong with keeping your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your-mouth-shut-if-you-don-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-keeping-your-mouth-shut-if-you-don-t-have/#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 } } ] } ```