--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Remember: a clever woman never lets a man…" description: "\"“Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver she is”\" — Lesley Downer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg" --- # Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver… ![“Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver she is” quote by Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg) > ““Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver she is”” [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A witty woman conceals her intellect to avoid intimidating men, preserving social harmony and personal advantage. **In simple terms:** Subtle intelligence protects social dynamics. Key Takeaway Strategic modesty can be empowering. Themes gender dynamics social strategy humor power relations self-presentation Mood wry cautious confident Type aphor advice observation When to use this quote - professional networking - dating scenarios - team meetings - political negotiations Key Concepts social perception intelligence gender roles Practical Applications - advice for women in male-dominated fields - coaching on interpersonal influence Questions to Reflect On - When is modesty more beneficial than openness? - How does this affect long-term credibility? A Different Perspective Such concealment may reinforce stereotypes that women should hide competence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Clever woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever-woman/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-clever-427580/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) ## Related quotes > [When a man wants a mystery, it is generally better to leave him mystified. Nobody loves a clever woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/when-a-man-wants-a-mystery-it-is-generally-better-to-leave-him/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [My wife is a very clever woman. She knows when to say something and when to bite her tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gino-d-acampo/my-wife-is-a-very-clever-woman-she-knows-when-to-say-something-and/) [Gino D'Acampo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gino-d-acampo/) > [Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history; that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/cleopatra-stood-at-one-of-the-most-dangerous-intersections-in-history/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“shook hands very cordially; and yet I always feel him shrinking sensitively from me, as a woman, a clever woman, an up to date…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/shook-hands-very-cordially-and-yet-i-always-feel-him-shrinking/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Do you really not know that to praise a woman's mind is to abuse her? Is everyone not convinced that where there's cleverness there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karolina-pavlova/do-you-really-not-know-that-to-praise-a-woman-s-mind-is-to-abuse-her/) [Karolina Pavlova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karolina-pavlova/) > [The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/the-silliest-woman-can-manage-a-clever-man-but-it-needs-a-very-clever/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Catherine was clever, but even a clever woman misses some of the strange corridors in a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/catherine-was-clever-but-even-a-clever-woman-misses-some-of-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Then says Mrs. Hauksbee to me – she looked a trifle faded and jaded in the lamplight: “Take my word for it, the silliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/then-says-mrs-hauksbee-to-me-she-looked-a-trifle-faded-and-jaded-in/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Good women are rarely clever and clever women are rarely good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adah-isaacs-menken/good-women-are-rarely-clever-and-clever-women-are-rarely-good/) [Adah Isaacs Menken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adah-isaacs-menken/) > [“For the male sickness of self-contempt, the surest cure is to be loved by a clever woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/for-the-male-sickness-of-self-contempt-the-surest-cure-is-to-be-loved/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The surest aid in combating the male's disease of self-contempt is to be loved by a clever woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-surest-aid-in-combating-the-male-s-disease-of-self-contempt-is-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [the world is not always kind to a clever woman even when she is visibly known to be earning her own living. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/the-world-is-not-always-kind-to-a-clever-woman-even-when-she-is/) [Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/) > [“You'll be happy if you'll remember that men don't change much. Women do. Women adapt themselves, and if you think that means they lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cadell/you-ll-be-happy-if-you-ll-remember-that-men-don-t-change-much-women/) [Elizabeth Cadell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cadell/) > [“Stick to the needle, learn shirt-making and gown-making and piecrust-making, and you will be a clever woman some day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/stick-to-the-needle-learn-shirt-making-and-gown-making-and-piecrust/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [She is very clever, too clever for a woman. She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/she-is-very-clever-too-clever-for-a-woman-she-lacks-the-indefinable/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Lesley Downer > [“ A samurai never worries about losing his life. He worries about losing his honour. Being shamed is far worse than losing your life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/a-samurai-never-worries-about-losing-his-life-he-worries-about-losing/) [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) > [“Sada Yacco, in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/sada-yacco-in/) [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) > [“The wise man waits and his enemies tear each other to pieces”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/the-wise-man-waits-and-his-enemies-tear-each-other-to-pieces/) [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) > [“Sometimes you'll win, sometimes you'll lose, but you must never run away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/sometimes-you-ll-win-sometimes-you-ll-lose-but-you-must-never-run-away/) [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) > [“Waiting anxiously for you, Unable to sleep, but falling into a doze— Are those words of love Floating to my pillow, Or is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/waiting-anxiously-for-you-unable-to-sleep-but-falling-into-a-doze-are/) [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) > [“Once fallen, the blossom doesn't return to the branch”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/once-fallen-the-blossom-doesn-t-return-to-the-branch/) [Lesley Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) [Explore all 7 Lesley Downer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [If she is stupid enough to let you go, you're clever enough not to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-she-is-stupid-enough-to-let-you-go-you-re-clever-enough-not-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Need to go to the pharmacy, because I'm so sick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-matthews/need-to-go-to-the-pharmacy-because-i-m-so-sick/) [Tasha Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-matthews/) > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > ['I Love You' fails to sum up all the memories, smiles, laughs, trials, and tribulations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/i-love-you-fails-to-sum-up-all-the-memories-smiles-laughs-trials-and/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-clever-but-it-s-not-really-at/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed-her-i-her-hand-dropped-from/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [I love clever lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-hayes/i-love-clever-lyrics/) [Walker Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-hayes/) [Browse all 2,116 Clever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver she is”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lesley Downer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man-know-how-cleaver-she-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clever" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man-know-how-cleaver-she-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/365/lesley-downer-50071_clever_remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man_31319.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Remember: a clever woman never lets a man know how cleaver she is” — Lesley Downer", "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": "Lesley Downer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-downer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Remember: a clever woman never lets...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man-know-how-cleaver-she-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-downer/remember-a-clever-woman-never-lets-a-man-know-how-cleaver-she-is/#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 } } ] } ```