--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled…" description: "\"“I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were through. You stirred, 'Is it dangerous?' 'It's very dangerous,' I said. Indeed, just about any st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/lionel-shriver-744_nine-months_i-didn-t-put-in-my-diaphragm-i-mumbled-w_1581255.jpg" --- # I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were… ![“I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were through. You stirred, 'Is it dangerous?' 'It's very dangerous,' I said. Indeed, just about any stranger could have turned up nine months later. We might as well have left the door unlocked.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/lionel-shriver-744_nine-months_i-didn-t-put-in-my-diaphragm-i-mumbled-w_1581255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/lionel-shriver-744_nine-months_i-didn-t-put-in-my-diaphragm-i-mumbled-w_1581255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/lionel-shriver-744_nine-months_i-didn-t-put-in-my-diaphragm-i-mumbled-w_1581255.jpg) > ““I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were through. You stirred, 'Is it dangerous?' 'It's very dangerous,' I said. Indeed, just about any stranger could have turned up nine months later. We might as well have left the door unlocked.”” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unprotected intimacy can lead to unexpected, potentially dangerous outcomes **In simple terms:** Sex without protection may cause serious consequences Key Takeaway Practice safe intimacy to prevent harm Themes relationships responsibility consequences Mood reflective serious Type literary conversational When to use this quote - casual encounters - long‑term partnerships - health counseling - education programs Key Concepts sexual health trust future planning Questions to Reflect On - How do you discuss safety without fear? - What responsibilities do partners share? A Different Perspective The quote assumes worst‑case scenario, ignoring nuanced choices ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-said-319644/) [Diaphragm Mumbled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diaphragm-mumbled-5973660/) [Didn Diaphragm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-diaphragm-1680829/) [Nine months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nine-months/) [Stirred Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stirred-dangerous-5973661/) ## Related quotes > [“-I love you, Lenny. -From the diaphragm. -What are you talking about? -You have to say it from the diaphragm. That's a muscle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/i-love-you-lenny-from-the-diaphragm-what-are-you-talking-about-you/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [Teddy grinned again. 'Truths are dangerous,' he said. -'Then why are you writing them in a book?' -'To catch them between the pages,' said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/teddy-grinned-again-truths-are-dangerous-he-said-then-why-are-you/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Haven't you heard about me?" he said, with a tight smile. "I'm really a very dangerous person." And he did look dangerous until he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cinda-williams-chima/haven-t-you-heard-about-me-he-said-with-a-tight-smile-i-m-really-a/) [Cinda Williams Chima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cinda-williams-chima/) > [“The problem is that we have been encouraged to be victims rather than to defend ourselves. “We’ve moved towards an idea where the government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bird/the-problem-is-that-we-have-been-encouraged-to-be-victims-rather-than/) [Chris Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bird/) > [“So, you told them you’d do it.” “I did. Do you think that’s dumb?” “I think it’s dangerous,” he said, turning me to face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/so-you-told-them-you-d-do-it-i-did-do-you-think-that-s-dumb-i-think/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [“Life is dangerous," said Simon. "Young people need to see the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-blackwood/life-is-dangerous-said-simon-young-people-need-to-see-the-world/) [Sage Blackwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sage-blackwood/) > [“What's wrong?" I asked in a tiny voice, grasping for a piece of bookself to hold me up. His breath was still heavy. "This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-badham/what-s-wrong-i-asked-in-a-tiny-voice-grasping-for-a-piece-of-bookself/) [Van Badham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-badham/) > [“Truths are dangerous," he said. "Then why are you writing them in a book?" "To catch them between the pages," said Teddy, "and trap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/truths-are-dangerous-he-said-then-why-are-you-writing-them-in-a-book/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“He said I really had to be careful. Psychopaths are truly dangerous, he said. And they’re often the people you least expect them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/he-said-i-really-had-to-be-careful-psychopaths-are-truly-dangerous-he/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“That sounds dangerous,'said Jean. 'For anyone else, maybe.For Gentlemen Bastards,we,it;s just what we do.' 'We?' 'We.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/that-sounds-dangerous-said-jean-for-anyone-else-maybe-for-gentlemen/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“The animals of Doranna are dangerous,” she said. “We have a museum on Andromeda filled with specimens. I remember visiting as a child.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-gold/the-animals-of-doranna-are-dangerous-she-said-we-have-a-museum-on/) [Sasha Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-gold/) > [“Are you staying with us? It could be dangerous,' said William, realizing that he was saying this to a vampire iconographer who undied every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/are-you-staying-with-us-it-could-be-dangerous-said-william-realizing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“For years I’d been awaiting that overriding urge I’d always heard about, the narcotic pining that draws childless women ineluctably to strangers’ strollers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/for-years-i-d-been-awaiting-that-overriding-urge-i-d-always-heard/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [I'm so thankful that there are people willing to do that - to actually carry a child nine months for someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glozell/i-m-so-thankful-that-there-are-people-willing-to-do-that-to-actually/) [GloZell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glozell/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Dangerous quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Its extremely dangerous to compare anyone else to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/its-extremely-dangerous-to-compare-anyone-else-to-shakespeare/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/in-my-youth-team-days-i-was-always-a-left-winger-who-would-stay-close/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [The temptations of God were always more dangerous for mankind than those of Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-temptations-of-god-were-always-more-dangerous-for-mankind-than/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-you-start-talking-about-elections-being-rigged-you-re-pushing/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Die gefährlichste Weltanschauung ist die Weltanschauung derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben. (The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-von-humboldt/die-gef-hrlichste-weltanschauung-ist-die-weltanschauung-derer-die-die/) [Alexander von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-von-humboldt/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The more people that learn about you, even if you're an underdog, then you can come under fire a lot and the more attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/the-more-people-that-learn-about-you-even-if-you-re-an-underdog-then/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) [Browse all 6,450 Dangerous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I didn't put in my diaphragm' I mumbled when we were through. You stirred, 'Is it dangerous?' 'It's very dangerous,' I said. Indeed, just about any stranger could have turned up nine months later. 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