---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It must be lovely to be grown up…"
description: "\"“It must be lovely to be grown up, Marilla, when just being treated as if you were is so nice...Well, anyway, when I grow up, I'm always going to talk ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/l-m-montgomery-567_big-words_it-must-be-lovely-to-be-grown-up-marilla_121396.jpg"
---

#  It must be lovely to be grown up, Marilla, when just being…

![“It must be lovely to be grown up, Marilla, when just being treated as if you were is so nice...Well, anyway, when I grow up, I'm always going to talk to little girls as if they were, too, and I'll never laugh when they use big words.” quote by L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/l-m-montgomery-567_big-words_it-must-be-lovely-to-be-grown-up-marilla_121396.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/l-m-montgomery-567_big-words_it-must-be-lovely-to-be-grown-up-marilla_121396.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bd/l-m-montgomery-567_big-words_it-must-be-lovely-to-be-grown-up-marilla_121396.jpg)

> ““It must be lovely to be grown up, Marilla, when just being treated as if you were is so nice...Well, anyway, when I grow up, I'm always going to talk to little girls as if they were, too, and I'll never laugh when they use big words.””

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker admires how adults treat her kindly and vows to address younger girls with respect, never mocking their attempts at sophisticated language.

**In simple terms:** Treat children with the same respect you’d give adults.

Key Takeaway

Respectful communication builds confidence.

Themes

respect communication growth empathy

Mood

warm reflective

Type

advice reflection

When to use this quote

- classroom interactions
- parent‑child conversations
- mentor‑mentee guidance

Key Concepts

power dynamics language development

Practical Applications

- Model respectful language when speaking to kids
- Encourage kids to use new words without ridicule

Questions to Reflect On

- How does language shape self‑esteem?
- What would change if adults stopped mocking children’s attempts at adult speech?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/)

## Related quotes

> [It's fun to be almost grown up in some ways, but it's not the kind of fun I expected, Marilla. There's so much to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-fun-to-be-almost-grown-up-in-some-ways-but-it-s-not-the-kind-of/)

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> [“But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/but-if-you-have-big-ideas-you-have-to-use-big-words-to-express-them/)

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> [If you use big words, no one will know you aren't doing jack squat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/if-you-use-big-words-no-one-will-know-you-aren-t-doing-jack-squat/)

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> [I hate anything that occupies more space than it is worth... I hate to see a parcel of big words without anything in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/i-hate-anything-that-occupies-more-space-than-it-is-worth-i-hate-to/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [“I'm working class. But it's the working class that keeps the world running, and it's the working class that gets exploited. What the hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-working-class-but-it-s-the-working-class-that-keeps-the-world/)

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> [“I don't use big words to show off because it's ostentatious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/i-don-t-use-big-words-to-show-off-because-it-s-ostentatious/)

[Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/)

> [Infinitesimal braggadocio I'm but since you most likely don't understand me with using big words I use small words to say I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrawesome/infinitesimal-braggadocio-i-m-but-since-you-most-likely-don-t/)

MrAwesome

> [“Big words from a guy who's trussed up like a turkey. What are you going to do, wobble over here like an upside- down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ee/big-words-from-a-guy-who-s-trussed-up-like-a-turkey-what-are-you/)

[Susan Ee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ee/)

> [There is a note that comes into the human voice by which you may know real weariness. It comes when one has been trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/there-is-a-note-that-comes-into-the-human-voice-by-which-you-may-know/)

[Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/)

> [“...because if there was one thing he didn't like it was big words, they just lied and covered things up, those big words, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-fosse/because-if-there-was-one-thing-he-didn-t-like-it-was-big-words-they/)

Jon Fosse

> [“Small fruit is better than big words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/small-fruit-is-better-than-big-words/)

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

> [People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas, you have to use big words to express them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-laugh-at-me-because-i-use-big-words-but-if-you-have-big-ideas/)

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> [He read a lot. He used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-read-a-lot-he-used-a-lot-of-big-words-i-think-maybe-part-of-what/)

[Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/)

> [Well, 'aight, check this out, dawg. First of all, you throwin' too many big words at me, and because I don't understand them, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/well-aight-check-this-out-dawg-first-of-all-you-throwin-too-many-big/)

[Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/)

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[Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/)

## More by L.M. Montgomery

> [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/)

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> [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [“I don't think it's any help that it's your habit. What would you think of a person who went about sticking pins and needles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-help-that-it-s-your-habit-what-would-you-think/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [“What a splendid day! Isn't it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren't born yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/what-a-splendid-day-isn-t-it-good-just-to-be-alive-on-a-day-like-this/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [“I told you the Bible was more to be depended on than newspapers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-told-you-the-bible-was-more-to-be-depended-on-than-newspapers/)

[L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

> [“On a day like this there's no such word as fail in my bright lexicon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/on-a-day-like-this-there-s-no-such-word-as-fail-in-my-bright-lexicon/)

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> [“…she made a poem on it at once, the lines singing themselves through her consciousness without effort. With one side of her nature she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-made-a-poem-on-it-at-once-the-lines-singing-themselves-through/)

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[Explore all 463 L.M. Montgomery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/)

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> [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/)

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MrAwesome

> [“I don't use big words to show off because it's ostentatious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/i-don-t-use-big-words-to-show-off-because-it-s-ostentatious/)

[Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/)

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> [I hate anything that occupies more space than it is worth... I hate to see a parcel of big words without anything in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/i-hate-anything-that-occupies-more-space-than-it-is-worth-i-hate-to/)

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> [Inside I feel much like a 12-year-old or a 17-year-old who knows big words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/inside-i-feel-much-like-a-12-year-old-or-a-17-year-old-who-knows-big/)

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Browse all 122 Big words quotes

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