--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Colin thought about the dork mantra…" description: "\"Colin thought about the dork mantra: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. What a dirty lie.\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/john-green-12_bones_colin-thought-about-the-dork-mantra-stic_49211.jpg" --- # Colin thought about the dork mantra: sticks and stones may… ![“Colin thought about the dork mantra: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. What a dirty lie.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/john-green-12_bones_colin-thought-about-the-dork-mantra-stic_49211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/john-green-12_bones_colin-thought-about-the-dork-mantra-stic_49211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/john-green-12_bones_colin-thought-about-the-dork-mantra-stic_49211.jpg) > “Colin thought about the dork mantra: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. What a dirty lie.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote challenges the myth that words are harmless, exposing their power to cause emotional and psychological harm. **In simple terms:** Words can wound as deeply as physical blows. Key Takeaway Language has real impact. Themes Power of language Psychological harm Myth debunking Emotional resilience Mood defeling thoughtful serious Type Observation Critique When to use this quote - Online harassment - Bullying in schools - Political rhetoric - Family conflicts Key Concepts Verbal aggression Social influence Self-protection Practical Applications - Developing anti‑bullying programs - Training in empathetic communication Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when words have caused lasting damage? - What strategies can protect against verbal attacks? A Different Perspective Physical injury is immediate and visible, whereas verbal harm can be subtle and delayed, making it harder to address. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Bones Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones-words/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Colin Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colin-thought-706043/) [Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty/) [Dork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dork/) [Dork Mantra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dork-mantra-706045/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Hurt me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-me/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Sticks and stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks-and-stones/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Thought Dork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-dork-706044/) [Words hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-hurt/) ## Related quotes > [I wore goofy hats to school and did musical theater. Most people thought I was a dork. But if you have a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/i-wore-goofy-hats-to-school-and-did-musical-theater-most-people/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [“Colin thought about the dork mantra: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. What a dirty lie. This,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/colin-thought-about-the-dork-mantra-sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“And in that space, Colin thought, there was room enough to reinvent himself--room enough to make himself into something other than a prodigy, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-in-that-space-colin-thought-there-was-room-enough-to-reinvent/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I will have that, Colin thought. I will have it. I will. With Katherine. But I won't be only that, he resolved. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-will-have-that-colin-thought-i-will-have-it-i-will-with-katherine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He found himself thinking that maybe stories don't just make us matter to each other - maybe they're also the only way to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-found-himself-thinking-that-maybe-stories-don-t-just-make-us/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“And Colin thought: Because like say I tell someone about my feral hog hunt. Even if it's a dumb story, telling it changes other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-colin-thought-because-like-say-i-tell-someone-about-my-feral-hog/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Son, if there's on thing I know," and Colin thought about how old people always like to tell you the one thing they know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/son-if-there-s-on-thing-i-know-and-colin-thought-about-how-old-people/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“As the staggered lines rushed past him, the space between what we predict and what will happen. 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Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can hurt like hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/sticks-and-stones-may-break-your-bones-but-words-can-hurt-like-hell/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Sticks and stones may break my bones but words are what will kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones-but-words-are-what-will-kill-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/sticks-and-stones-may-break-our-bones-but-words-will-break-our-hearts/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [“What is that old children’s rhyme, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’? Anyone who says that doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/what-is-that-old-children-s-rhyme-sticks-and-stones-may-break-my/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Bones quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“We are preaching hope, standing on the bones of the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rucyahana/we-are-preaching-hope-standing-on-the-bones-of-the-past/) [John Rucyahana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rucyahana/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. 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