--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is with wits as with razors, which are…" description: "\"It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to cut those they are employed on as when they have lost their edge.\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg" --- # It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to… ![“It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to cut those they are employed on as when they have lost their edge.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg) > “It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to cut those they are employed on as when they have lost their edge.” [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A metaphor comparing wit to a dull razor, suggesting it loses effectiveness when not sharp. **In simple terms:** Wit loses power when it's not sharp. Key Takeaway Keep your mind sharp. Themes wit sharpness effectiveness Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - debating - writing - solving problems - teaching - learning Key Concepts metaphor critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain mental sharpness? - When is restraint more valuable than wit? A Different Perspective Wit can be misused if not tempered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cut Employed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut-employed-3395669/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Employed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employed/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-edge-2238036/) [Razors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/razors/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Wits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wits/) [Wits Razors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wits-razors-3395668/) ## Related quotes > [“The price we paid was the price men have always paid for achieving a paradise in this life--we went soft, we lost our edge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-price-we-paid-was-the-price-men-have-always-paid-for-achieving-a/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I lost my edge for boxing, I didn't put as much into it as I did before. I didn't run as far. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-norton/i-lost-my-edge-for-boxing-i-didn-t-put-as-much-into-it-as-i-did/) [Ken Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-norton/) > [So no, I don't think we've lost our edge at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/so-no-i-don-t-think-we-ve-lost-our-edge-at-all/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) > [All our words from loose using have lost their edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-our-words-from-loose-using-have-lost-their-edge/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-faber/watch-your-step-keep-your-wits-about-you-you-will-need-them/) [Michel Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-faber/) > [The women of Afghanistan, left behind as their men fought, did what the women of World War II did - used their wits and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/the-women-of-afghanistan-left-behind-as-their-men-fought-did-what-the/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) > [If we did not know all His retorts by heart, if we had not taken the sting out of them by incessant repetition in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/if-we-did-not-know-all-his-retorts-by-heart-if-we-had-not-taken-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To be scared out of your wits is to be at your wits' end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/to-be-scared-out-of-your-wits-is-to-be-at-your-wits-end/) [Anyaele Sam Chiyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anyaele-sam-chiyson/) > [The finest wits have their sediment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-finest-wits-have-their-sediment/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I think our movie, 'Now You See Me,' is an emotional movie rooted in smart and wits and fully amazing actors working perfectly together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-leterrier/i-think-our-movie-now-you-see-me-is-an-emotional-movie-rooted-in/) [Louis Leterrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-leterrier/) > [It was 1999, and we were building a way for college kids to create online profiles for the purpose of sharing... with employers. Oops.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/it-was-1999-and-we-were-building-a-way-for-college-kids-to-create/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [“Intelligence is a way of thinking, not a choice of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/intelligence-is-a-way-of-thinking-not-a-choice-of-words/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Life is a battle of wits between you and the circumstances. Make them, don't let them make you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-between-you-and-the-circumstances-make-them/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [Wits always win, man, in the battle of brain versus brawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-ferguson/wits-always-win-man-in-the-battle-of-brain-versus-brawn/) [Tony Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-ferguson/) > [That's what cricket's all about: two batsmen pitting their wits against one another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-trueman/that-s-what-cricket-s-all-about-two-batsmen-pitting-their-wits/) [Fred Trueman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-trueman/) ## More by Jonathan Swift > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“He said, he knew no reason why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to the public should be obliged to change, or should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-said-he-knew-no-reason-why-those-who-entertain-opinions/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [May you live every day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/may-you-live-every-day-of-your-life/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Ale is meat, drink and cloth; it will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ale-is-meat-drink-and-cloth-it-will-make-a-cat-speak-and-a-wise-man/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor; it is like spending this year part of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/all-fits-of-pleasure-are-balanced-by-an-equal-degree-of-pain-or/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/when-a-great-genius-appears-in-the-world-you-may-know-him-by-this/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) [Explore all 535 Jonathan Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More Cutting quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [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/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) [Browse all 6,010 Cutting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to cut those they are employed on as when they have lost their edge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are-never-so-apt-to-cut-those/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cutting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are-never-so-apt-to-cut-those/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/jonathan-swift-433_cutting_it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are_2793244.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is with wits as with razors, which are never so apt to cut those they are employed on as when they have…” — Jonathan Swift", "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": "Jonathan Swift", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is with wits as with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are-never-so-apt-to-cut-those/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/it-is-with-wits-as-with-razors-which-are-never-so-apt-to-cut-those/#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 } } ] } ```