--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd rather have the thieves than the…" description: "\"“I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose. Thieves just want your things, neighbors want your time. I'd rather give th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/larry-david-2520_thief_i-d-rather-have-the-thieves-than-the-nei_1357871.png" --- # I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the… ![“I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose. Thieves just want your things, neighbors want your time. I'd rather give them things than time.” quote by Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/larry-david-2520_thief_i-d-rather-have-the-thieves-than-the-nei_1357871.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/larry-david-2520_thief_i-d-rather-have-the-thieves-than-the-nei_1357871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/larry-david-2520_thief_i-d-rather-have-the-thieves-than-the-nei_1357871.png) > ““I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose. Thieves just want your things, neighbors want your time. I'd rather give them things than time.”” [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People impose different demands: thieves take possessions, neighbors demand time; choosing material loss over personal time can feel preferable. **In simple terms:** Neighbors demand time, thieves take things. Key Takeaway Value your time over material loss. Themes relationships boundaries time material choice Mood wry humorous Type satirical observational When to use this quote - setting boundaries - negotiating time - declining favors Key Concepts psychology social dynamics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Do you protect your time? - How do you handle intrusive demands? A Different Perspective Time is finite; material loss can be replaced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impose Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impose-thieves-4638451/) [Neighbors Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors-thieves-4638450/) [Neighbors Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors-want-3346341/) [Thief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thief/) [Thieves Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves-neighbors-4638449/) [Things Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-neighbors-2711266/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I’d rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose. Thieves just want your things, neighbors want your time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-d-rather-have-the-thieves-than-the-neighbors-the-thieves-don-t/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [Never talking to strangers. Saying nasty things about the neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/never-talking-to-strangers-saying-nasty-things-about-the-neighbors/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [They who are all things to their neighbors cease to be anything to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-douglas/they-who-are-all-things-to-their-neighbors-cease-to-be-anything-to/) [Norman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-douglas/) > [Of course you don't want to hurt your neighbors - you want everybody to succeed and prosper - but at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dolmayan/of-course-you-don-t-want-to-hurt-your-neighbors-you-want-everybody-to/) [John Dolmayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dolmayan/) > [I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-need-you-to-go-out-and-talk-to-your-friends-and-talk-to-your/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) [Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/) > [A thief who stole a calendar . . . got twelve months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/a-thief-who-stole-a-calendar-got-twelve-months/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [The difference between theft and destruction is often a few keystrokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-alperovitch/the-difference-between-theft-and-destruction-is-often-a-few-keystrokes/) [Dmitri Alperovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-alperovitch/) > [“You give a guy a license to steal, you've got to expect him to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/you-give-a-guy-a-license-to-steal-you-ve-got-to-expect-him-to-use-it/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [If war comes upon us, it will come as a thief in the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-de-valera/if-war-comes-upon-us-it-will-come-as-a-thief-in-the-night/) [Eamon de Valera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-de-valera/) > [Procrastination is the thief of time: Year after year it steals, till all are fled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/procrastination-is-the-thief-of-time-year-after-year-it-steals-till/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Hunger makes a thief of any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The back-doore robs the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-back-doore-robs-the-house/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [ “Through the grace of a thief, one can become a thief and through the grace of a Gnani \[the enlightened one\], one can become… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/through-the-grace-of-a-thief-one-can-become-a-thief-and-through-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) ## More by Larry David > [Weathermen merely forecast rain to keep everyone else off the golf course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/weathermen-merely-forecast-rain-to-keep-everyone-else-off-the-golf/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [The addition of nuts in salad... I always find to be beneficial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/the-addition-of-nuts-in-salad-i-always-find-to-be-beneficial/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I don't really know much about TV and what people want to see. I'm not that well-informed about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-don-t-really-know-much-about-tv-and-what-people-want-to-see-i-m-not/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [Once I know people know who I am, it gives me a lot of licence and freedom to behave in ways I wouldn't normally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/once-i-know-people-know-who-i-am-it-gives-me-a-lot-of-licence-and/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I don't take on big things. What I do, pretty much, is make the big things small and the small things big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-don-t-take-on-big-things-what-i-do-pretty-much-is-make-the-big/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I am not honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-am-not-honest/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [Golf and dating don't mix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/golf-and-dating-don-t-mix/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [You know, when you do standup there are certain requirements that you have to do like you have to go on stage and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/you-know-when-you-do-standup-there-are-certain-requirements-that-you/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [You can't do anything in life. The social barriers in life are so intense and horrific that every encounter is just fraught with so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/you-can-t-do-anything-in-life-the-social-barriers-in-life-are-so/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I have reservations about everything I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-have-reservations-about-everything-i-do/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I'm a jerk, that's who I am. I'm like everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-m-a-jerk-that-s-who-i-am-i-m-like-everybody-else/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I can't stand reading anything that I've said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-can-t-stand-reading-anything-that-i-ve-said/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [I had a job as a paralegal. I drove a cab.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/i-had-a-job-as-a-paralegal-i-drove-a-cab/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [Even though the National Guard and Army Reserve see combat today, it rankles me that people assume it was some kind of waltz in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/even-though-the-national-guard-and-army-reserve-see-combat-today-it/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) > [There's a sense of spontaneity, and no emphasis on jokes in this show. People generally talk the way they talk in life if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-david/there-s-a-sense-of-spontaneity-and-no-emphasis-on-jokes-in-this-show/) [Larry David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) [Explore all 162 Larry David quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-david/) ## More Thief quotes > [ “Through the grace of a thief, one can become a thief and through the grace of a Gnani \[the enlightened one\], one can become… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/through-the-grace-of-a-thief-one-can-become-a-thief-and-through-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [The back-doore robs the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-back-doore-robs-the-house/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Hunger makes a thief of any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Procrastination is the thief of time: Year after year it steals, till all are fled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/procrastination-is-the-thief-of-time-year-after-year-it-steals-till/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [If war comes upon us, it will come as a thief in the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-de-valera/if-war-comes-upon-us-it-will-come-as-a-thief-in-the-night/) [Eamon de Valera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-de-valera/) > [“You give a guy a license to steal, you've got to expect him to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/you-give-a-guy-a-license-to-steal-you-ve-got-to-expect-him-to-use-it/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [The difference between theft and destruction is often a few keystrokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-alperovitch/the-difference-between-theft-and-destruction-is-often-a-few-keystrokes/) [Dmitri Alperovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-alperovitch/) > [A thief who stole a calendar . . . got twelve months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/a-thief-who-stole-a-calendar-got-twelve-months/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) [Will Advise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-advise/) > [“Stomach full of jitters, little beasts that were second cousins to guacamolians—little green monsters that wreaked havoc in your stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kely-mcclung/stomach-full-of-jitters-little-beasts-that-were-second-cousins-to/) [William Kely McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kely-mcclung/) > [No stars got nothing on me. Your suns got nothing on me. And the fool who sees its the thief that needs, has got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bognar/no-stars-got-nothing-on-me-your-suns-got-nothing-on-me-and-the-fool/) [Jenna Bognar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bognar/) > [“He finally found someone like him. Someone who shared his abilities, someone who understood what he had to go through every day. And she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaxon-reed/he-finally-found-someone-like-him-someone-who-shared-his-abilities/) [Jaxon Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaxon-reed/) > [“She stood up and took the book from him, and as he smiled over his shoulder at some other kids, she threw it away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/she-stood-up-and-took-the-book-from-him-and-as-he-smiled-over-his/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“I'm Kieran. You must be a hell of a thief because you stole my heart from across the room,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayde-scott/i-m-kieran-you-must-be-a-hell-of-a-thief-because-you-stole-my-heart/) [Jayde Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayde-scott/) [Browse all 603 Thief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'd rather have the thieves than the neighbors - the thieves don't impose. 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