---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like an old door, ever man past a certain…"
description: "\"“Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with historical warps and creaks of one kind or another, and a woman who wishes to put him to seri..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png"
---

#  Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with…

![“Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with historical warps and creaks of one kind or another, and a woman who wishes to put him to serious further use must expect to do a certain amount of sanding and planing.” quote by Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png)

> ““Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with historical warps and creaks of one kind or another, and a woman who wishes to put him to serious further use must expect to do a certain amount of sanding and planing.””

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Aging makes people develop quirks and flaws that require careful handling and effort to maintain relationships.

**In simple terms:** Older people need patience and work to stay useful.

Key Takeaway

Treat aging partners with care and effort.

Themes

aging relationships maintenance patience effort

Mood

reflective empathetic

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- marriage
- long‑term partnership
- caretaking
- home repair

Key Concepts

human nature interpersonal dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance respect for experience with the need for change?
- What effort are you willing to invest in a long‑term relationship?

A Different Perspective

Not all quirks can be fixed; some may cause friction.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [Death is only an old door Set in a garden wall; On quiet hinges it gives, at dusk When the thrushes call. Along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garden-wall-on-quiet-hinges-it/)

[Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/)

> [Waiting for your knock, dear, on my old front door. I don't hear it...does it mean you don't love me anymore?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/waiting-for-your-knock-dear-on-my-old-front-door-i-don-t-hear-it-does/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Death is only an old door/Set in a garden wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-byrd-turner/death-is-only-an-old-door-set-in-a-garden-wall/)

[Nancy Byrd Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-byrd-turner/)

> [If you don't have a new door to walk through, the only thing is the old door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/if-you-don-t-have-a-new-door-to-walk-through-the-only-thing-is-the/)

[Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/)

> [Part of the reason might be that I was born in 1954 and I look upon my youth with great fondness, like many old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/part-of-the-reason-might-be-that-i-was-born-in-1954-and-i-look-upon/)

[Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/)

> [This is what it's like to get old: You still feel 19, except your knees hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-daniels-2/this-is-what-it-s-like-to-get-old-you-still-feel-19-except-your-knees/)

J. D. Daniels

> [I, 100 percent, feel like an old man, but I love it. I watch the news; I'm up early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-grier/i-100-percent-feel-like-an-old-man-but-i-love-it-i-watch-the-news-i-m/)

[Will Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-grier/)

> [Like the old Italian saying goes, 'It ain't rocket surgery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-giosia/like-the-old-italian-saying-goes-it-ain-t-rocket-surgery/)

[Nadia Giosia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-giosia/)

> [And the look on her face as she opened the door Was like an old joke told by a friend. It'd taken ten more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/and-the-look-on-her-face-as-she-opened-the-door-was-like-an-old-joke/)

[Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/)

> [I'm like old wine. They don't bring me out very often, but I'm well preserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-kennedy/i-m-like-old-wine-they-don-t-bring-me-out-very-often-but-i-m-well/)

[Rose Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-kennedy/)

> [You're holdin on to me like an old love that you know every inch of. I feel you start to go, take it slow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-holdin-on-to-me-like-an-old-love-that-you-know-every-inch-of-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Sometimes I feel like an old hooker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/sometimes-i-feel-like-an-old-hooker/)

[Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/)

> [“Just like an old couple…I don’t see his dashing smile and green eyes anymore, I only see his fears, his rudeness, I see everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaia-b-amman/just-like-an-old-couple-i-don-t-see-his-dashing-smile-and-green-eyes/)

[Gaia B. Amman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaia-b-amman/)

> [I look at a picture like Scarecrow and think, 'Jesus, how could they have let us make that?' I mean, if you used technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/i-look-at-a-picture-like-scarecrow-and-think-jesus-how-could-they/)

[Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/)

> [I could have fought in any era and a lot of the old warriors feel I'm like an old-school fighter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toney/i-could-have-fought-in-any-era-and-a-lot-of-the-old-warriors-feel-i-m/)

[James Toney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toney/)

## More by Joseph O'Neill

> [I felt shame - I see this clearly, now - at the instinctive recognition in myself of an awful enfeebling fatalism, a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-felt-shame-i-see-this-clearly-now-at-the-instinctive-recognition-in/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“...even my work, the largest of the pots and pans I'd placed under my life's leaking ceiling, had become to small to contain my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/even-my-work-the-largest-of-the-pots-and-pans-i-d-placed-under-my/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [I think you sense the metaphorical resonance of what you're writing without analysing it too carefully. That leads you down dead ends. You stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-think-you-sense-the-metaphorical-resonance-of-what-you-re-writing/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [It takes a long, long time to write what I do write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/it-takes-a-long-long-time-to-write-what-i-do-write/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [I have been to Turkey almost every summer holiday of my life and pretty much only on summer holidays, which makes me a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-have-been-to-turkey-almost-every-summer-holiday-of-my-life-and/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“I see, I tell him, looking from him to Rachel and again to him. Then I turn to look for what it is we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-see-i-tell-him-looking-from-him-to-rachel-and-again-to-him-then-i/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“She merely wiped the floor with paper towels and said nothing, brushing her free hand against my shoulder blade—my shoulder blade!—as she carried the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/she-merely-wiped-the-floor-with-paper-towels-and-said-nothing/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“I am vertiginously reminded that the human race refreshes itself in absolute ignorance and that without an enormous, never-ending labor of pedagogy, everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-am-vertiginously-reminded-that-the-human-race-refreshes-itself-in/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [You want a novel to tap as directly as possible into your most unspeakable preoccupations. And in America, in particular, cricket is pretty unspeakable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/you-want-a-novel-to-tap-as-directly-as-possible-into-your-most/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“A self-evident and prefabricated symbolism attaches itself to this slow climb to the zenith, and we are not so foolishly ironic, or confident, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/a-self-evident-and-prefabricated-symbolism-attaches-itself-to-this/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“...bright-shirted racers of the Tour de France zoomed by like fantastically bicycling macaws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/bright-shirted-racers-of-the-tour-de-france-zoomed-by-like/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [Novel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/novel-writing-is-a-bit-like-deception-you-lie-as-little-as-you/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“For those under the age of 45 it seemed that world events had finally contrived a meaningful test of their capacity for conscientious political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/for-those-under-the-age-of-45-it-seemed-that-world-events-had-finally/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [“Perhaps the relevant truth- and it's one whose existence was apparent to my wife, and I'm sure to much of the world, long before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/perhaps-the-relevant-truth-and-it-s-one-whose-existence-was-apparent/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

> [I certainly want to continue to write in a way that's intimate. I love books where you feel you're having a romance with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-certainly-want-to-continue-to-write-in-a-way-that-s-intimate-i-love/)

[Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

[Explore all 61 Joseph O'Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/)

## More Like Old quotes

> [I could have fought in any era and a lot of the old warriors feel I'm like an old-school fighter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toney/i-could-have-fought-in-any-era-and-a-lot-of-the-old-warriors-feel-i-m/)

[James Toney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toney/)

> [I look at a picture like Scarecrow and think, 'Jesus, how could they have let us make that?' I mean, if you used technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/i-look-at-a-picture-like-scarecrow-and-think-jesus-how-could-they/)

[Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/)

> [“Just like an old couple…I don’t see his dashing smile and green eyes anymore, I only see his fears, his rudeness, I see everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaia-b-amman/just-like-an-old-couple-i-don-t-see-his-dashing-smile-and-green-eyes/)

[Gaia B. Amman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaia-b-amman/)

> [Sometimes I feel like an old hooker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/sometimes-i-feel-like-an-old-hooker/)

[Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/)

> [You're holdin on to me like an old love that you know every inch of. I feel you start to go, take it slow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-holdin-on-to-me-like-an-old-love-that-you-know-every-inch-of-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm like old wine. They don't bring me out very often, but I'm well preserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-kennedy/i-m-like-old-wine-they-don-t-bring-me-out-very-often-but-i-m-well/)

[Rose Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-kennedy/)

> [And the look on her face as she opened the door Was like an old joke told by a friend. It'd taken ten more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/and-the-look-on-her-face-as-she-opened-the-door-was-like-an-old-joke/)

[Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/)

> [Like the old Italian saying goes, 'It ain't rocket surgery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-giosia/like-the-old-italian-saying-goes-it-ain-t-rocket-surgery/)

[Nadia Giosia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-giosia/)

> [I, 100 percent, feel like an old man, but I love it. I watch the news; I'm up early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-grier/i-100-percent-feel-like-an-old-man-but-i-love-it-i-watch-the-news-i-m/)

[Will Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-grier/)

> [This is what it's like to get old: You still feel 19, except your knees hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-daniels-2/this-is-what-it-s-like-to-get-old-you-still-feel-19-except-your-knees/)

J. D. Daniels

> [Part of the reason might be that I was born in 1954 and I look upon my youth with great fondness, like many old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/part-of-the-reason-might-be-that-i-was-born-in-1954-and-i-look-upon/)

[Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/)

> [I've always loved people that's been around for a long time, like old shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/i-ve-always-loved-people-that-s-been-around-for-a-long-time-like-old/)

[Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/)

> [“People are very open-minded about new things - as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.” -Charles F. Kettering”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wright/people-are-very-open-minded-about-new-things-as-long-as-they-re/)

[Colin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wright/)

> [Oh, you young people act like old men. You have no fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-baker/oh-you-young-people-act-like-old-men-you-have-no-fun/)

[Josephine Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-baker/)

> [I like my old nose. If I could get it out the cupboard and put it on, then I would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-price/i-like-my-old-nose-if-i-could-get-it-out-the-cupboard-and-put-it-on/)

[Katie Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-price/)

Browse all 208 Like Old quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with historical warps and creaks of one kind or another, and a woman who wishes to put him to serious further use must expect to do a certain amount of sanding and planing.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joseph O'Neill"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain-age-comes-with-historical/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Like Old"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain-age-comes-with-historical/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/joseph-o-neill-10798_like-old_like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain_335027.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Like an old door, ever man past a certain age comes with historical warps and creaks of one kind or another…” — Joseph O'Neill",
                "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": "Joseph O'Neill",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Like an old door, ever man...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain-age-comes-with-historical/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/like-an-old-door-ever-man-past-a-certain-age-comes-with-historical/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```