--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange…" description: "\"Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging, somehow.\" — Lauren Oliver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/lauren-oliver-109_failure_mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-s_12986.png" --- # Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging… ![“Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging, somehow.” quote by Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/lauren-oliver-109_failure_mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-s_12986.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/lauren-oliver-109_failure_mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-s_12986.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97f/lauren-oliver-109_failure_mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-s_12986.png) > “Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging, somehow.” [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## 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 highlights how the concept of error can feel sharp and unsettling, emphasizing its emotional sting. **In simple terms:** Errors can feel painful. Key Takeaway Mistakes have an emotional weight. Themes error emotion perception language psychology Mood reflective somber Type aphoristic philosophical When to use this quote - self-reflection - creative writing - critical analysis - personal growth Key Concepts stinging sensation subjective experience Practical Applications - therapy - literary critique Questions to Reflect On - How do mistakes shape our self‑image? - When does an error become a learning opportunity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistake Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-mistake-373046/) [Mistake Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-strange-373047/) [Stinging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stinging-373045/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Word Stinging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-stinging-373044/) ## Related quotes > [“You land a second strike, this time just on my left cheek. It feels hard already and stings like hell. I imagine the red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-brandon/you-land-a-second-strike-this-time-just-on-my-left-cheek-it-feels/) [Felicity Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-brandon/) > [I remember my hands used to be stinging in pain, just from trying to catch the ball. I used to stand like 15, 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-jefferson/i-remember-my-hands-used-to-be-stinging-in-pain-just-from-trying-to/) [Justin Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-jefferson/) > [“Eat bees and you will have a stinging appetite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-t-hincks/eat-bees-and-you-will-have-a-stinging-appetite/) [Anthony T. Hincks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-t-hincks/) > [When life hands you lemons, squirt the juice in your eye..the stinging sensation will stop your whining. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-hands-you-lemons-squirt-the-juice-in-your-eye-the-stinging/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No patience. No kisses. No hugs. Just a tweezers and some rubbing alcohol, and a stinging sensation that never goes away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/no-patience-no-kisses-no-hugs-just-a-tweezers-and-some-rubbing/) [A.S. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [Ain't found a way to kill me yet. Eyes burn with stinging sweat. Seems every path leads me to nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-in-chains/ain-t-found-a-way-to-kill-me-yet-eyes-burn-with-stinging-sweat-seems/) [Alice In Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-in-chains/) > [“My eyes were stinging, my body shaking, and my heart seemed to be just aching deep in my chest. (...) I should have let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keri-arthur/my-eyes-were-stinging-my-body-shaking-and-my-heart-seemed-to-be-just/) [Keri Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keri-arthur/) > [I'll be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-ll-be-floating-like-a-butterfly-and-stinging-like-a-bee/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [In handling a stinging insect, move very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-handling-a-stinging-insect-move-very-slowly/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [There once was a Bald Man who sat down after work on a hot summer's day. A Fly came up and kept buzzing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/there-once-was-a-bald-man-who-sat-down-after-work-on-a-hot-summer-s/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [When a bee stings, she dies. She cannot sting and live. When men sting, their better selves die. Every sting kills a better instinct.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-bee-stings-she-dies-she-cannot-sting-and-live-when-men-sting/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“There is is again, that slight stinging sensation of the cheeks. It's our body's light speed response to the world showing us up. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/there-is-is-again-that-slight-stinging-sensation-of-the-cheeks-it-s/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [It went from butterflies fluttering in my stomach to bees stinging in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-went-from-butterflies-fluttering-in-my-stomach-to-bees-stinging-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A mistake is only a mistake if we fail to evolve from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/a-mistake-is-only-a-mistake-if-we-fail-to-evolve-from-it/) [Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/) > [A mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-mistake-is-only-a-mistake-if-you-don-t-learn-from-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Lauren Oliver > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [This is what happens when you try to help people. You get screwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/this-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-help-people-you-get-screwed/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“At least when I'm sleeping I can dream myself back to Alex, can dream myself into a different world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/at-least-when-i-m-sleeping-i-can-dream-myself-back-to-alex-can-dream/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Julian is somewhere among those lights, in that blur of people and buildings. I wonder whether he's scared. I wonder whether he's thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/julian-is-somewhere-among-those-lights-in-that-blur-of-people-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“She’s the kind of person who makes you feel drunk just by being around her, like suddenly the world’s edges are dulled and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/she-s-the-kind-of-person-who-makes-you-feel-drunk-just-by-being/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Stop!” His voice rings out sharply, hard as a slap. He releases me and I stumble backward. “Alex is dead, do you hear me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/stop-his-voice-rings-out-sharply-hard-as-a-slap-he-releases-me-and-i/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You can't judge a book by its steel-toed combat boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-steel-toed-combat-boots/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“I wish I could close my eyes and be blown into dust and nothingness, feel all my thoughts disperse like dandelion fluff drifting off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wish-i-could-close-my-eyes-and-be-blown-into-dust-and-nothingness/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) [Explore all 1,181 Lauren Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mistake, mistake, mistake. 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