--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poor Mary Ann! She gave the guy an inch…" description: "\"Poor Mary Ann! She gave the guy an inch and now he thinks he's a ruler.\" — Mae West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/688/mae-west-1200_guy_poor-mary-ann-she-gave-the-guy-an-inch-a_1481829.jpg" --- # Poor Mary Ann! She gave the guy an inch and now he thinks… ![“Poor Mary Ann! She gave the guy an inch and now he thinks he's a ruler.” quote by Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/688/mae-west-1200_guy_poor-mary-ann-she-gave-the-guy-an-inch-a_1481829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/688/mae-west-1200_guy_poor-mary-ann-she-gave-the-guy-an-inch-a_1481829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/688/mae-west-1200_guy_poor-mary-ann-she-gave-the-guy-an-inch-a_1481829.jpg) > “Poor Mary Ann! She gave the guy an inch and now he thinks he's a ruler.” [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Giving a small concession can lead someone to overstep and dominate. **In simple terms:** Small concessions can be abused. Key Takeaway Set firm boundaries early. Themes power control boundaries Mood cautious reflective Type advice humorous When to use this quote - relationships - workplace - negotiations Key Concepts assertiveness human nature Questions to Reflect On - Do you often give more than you receive? - How can you assert limits without conflict? A Different Perspective Assuming goodwill may be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Give the girl an inch and she thinks she's a ruler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-jance-2/give-the-girl-an-inch-and-she-thinks-she-s-a-ruler/) [J. A. Jance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-jance-2/) > [“Poor Mary. They married her to Jesus, and Jesus is an asexual circumcised revolutionary. What future is there to be had in that scenario?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/poor-mary-they-married-her-to-jesus-and-jesus-is-an-asexual/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) > [“Don't profane yourself, or the Biodag Dubh." Oh, Mary Ann. Me and the Beedak Doo are just fine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/don-t-profane-yourself-or-the-biodag-dubh-oh-mary-ann-me-and-the/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [“Mary Ann could no more endure a day without reading than she could grow feathers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/mary-ann-could-no-more-endure-a-day-without-reading-than-she-could/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“His face searching the bus windows looked expectant, impatient, and a little anxious. It was a husband's face. Familiar, known, increasing beloved. Mary Ann,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-head/his-face-searching-the-bus-windows-looked-expectant-impatient-and-a/) Ann Head > [Justice is in subjects as well as in rulers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/justice-is-in-subjects-as-well-as-in-rulers/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [For citizens who think themselves puppets in the hands of their rulers, nothing is more satisfying than having rulers as puppets in their hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/for-citizens-who-think-themselves-puppets-in-the-hands-of-their/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [All becomes easy when we follow the current of opinion; it is the ruler of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/all-becomes-easy-when-we-follow-the-current-of-opinion-it-is-the/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty, may have found an established Clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just Government instituted to secure & perpetuate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/rulers-who-wished-to-subvert-the-public-liberty-may-have-found-an/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/illiteracy-does-not-impede-the-practice-of-democracy-as-witnessed-by/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“For rulers, religion is a great tool to rule the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/for-rulers-religion-is-a-great-tool-to-rule-the-common-people/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More by Mae West > [Reason was nowhere, time was an immovable object nailed high on the wall, except where the world kept shop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/reason-was-nowhere-time-was-an-immovable-object-nailed-high-on-the/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [I've been in 'Who's Who' and I know what's what, but it'll be the first time I ever made the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-ve-been-in-who-s-who-and-i-know-what-s-what-but-it-ll-be-the-first/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Look your best - who said love is blind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/look-your-best-who-said-love-is-blind/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Don't let a man put anything over on you except an umbrella.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/don-t-let-a-man-put-anything-over-on-you-except-an-umbrella/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [In my long and colorful career, one thing stands out: I have been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/in-my-long-and-colorful-career-one-thing-stands-out-i-have-been/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [The finest woman that ever walked the streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/the-finest-woman-that-ever-walked-the-streets/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [The best way to hold a man is in your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/the-best-way-to-hold-a-man-is-in-your-arms/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Live close, visit often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/live-close-visit-often/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [A real farmer. He spent his childhood in the wheat, and his marriage in the hay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/a-real-farmer-he-spent-his-childhood-in-the-wheat-and-his-marriage-in/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Marriage? I ain't got time for a husband or child. 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I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. 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I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [I was never the best-looking guy; I was never the Tom Cruise-looking guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-sheffer/i-was-never-the-best-looking-guy-i-was-never-the-tom-cruise-looking/) [Craig Sheffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-sheffer/) Browse all 14,708 Guy quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Poor Mary Ann! 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