--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I" description: "\"“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I”\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg" --- # Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I ![“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg) > ““Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I”” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Resilience against oppressive forces; keep your spirit intact despite harsh treatment. **In simple terms:** Stay strong when faced with cruelty. Key Takeaway Do not let oppression crush you. Themes resilience oppression inner strength Mood determined defiant Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal adversity - political oppression - social injustice Key Concepts psychology power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What tactics help you maintain dignity? - How do you protect your mental health? A Different Perspective Even the strongest can be worn down without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don't let the bastards grind you down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/nolite-te-bastardes-carborundorum-don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Don't let the bastards grind you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Illegitimus non carborundum" (Don't let the bastards grind you down!)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-k-lewis/illegitimus-non-carborundum-don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down/) Roger K. Lewis > [Dont let the bastards grind you down?" Bran looked at me incredulously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/dont-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-bran-looked-at-me-incredulously/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Illegitimis non carborundum. Lat., Don't let the bastards grind you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stilwell/illegitimis-non-carborundum-lat-don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down/) [Joseph Stilwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stilwell/) > [Don't let the bastards grind you down. I repeat this to myself but it conveys nothing. You might as well say, Don't let there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i-repeat-this-to-myself-but-it-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I repeat this to myself but it conveys nothing. You might as well say, Don’t let there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i-repeat-this-to-myself-but-it/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Sing your song; don't let the bastards get you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/sing-your-song-don-t-let-the-bastards-get-you-down/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [Don't let the bastards get you down,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-the-bastards-get-you-down/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't take anything personally. You're going to come up against a lot and the best thing is to ignore it and don't let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-headland/don-t-take-anything-personally-you-re-going-to-come-up-against-a-lot/) [Leslye Headland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-headland/) > [“You bastards are on the top of Imperial Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's very own shit list now, you bet. But under what name? Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/you-bastards-are-on-the-top-of-imperial-lord-auditor-miles-vorkosigan/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS WILL ALWAYS BE UNGRATEFUL BECAUSE THAT IS WHO THEY ARE. THEY HAVE MANIPULATING THEIR WAY THROUGH LIFE SINCE BIRTH AND THERE IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/relentless/ungrateful-bastards-will-always-be-ungrateful-because-that-is-who/) Relentless > [“The ones who got away never really get away. Those sick bastards< i>changed us – have their fingerprints all over our lives – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roni-loren/the-ones-who-got-away-never-really-get-away-those-sick-bastards-i/) [Roni Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roni-loren/) > [“Gentlemen Bastards." hissed Locke, "do not abandon one another, and we do not run when we owe vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/gentlemen-bastards-hissed-locke-do-not-abandon-one-another-and-we-do/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Some's bastards, some's ain't. That's the score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/some-s-bastards-some-s-ain-t-that-s-the-score/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Bastards quotes > [Some's bastards, some's ain't. That's the score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/some-s-bastards-some-s-ain-t-that-s-the-score/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Gentlemen Bastards." hissed Locke, "do not abandon one another, and we do not run when we owe vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/gentlemen-bastards-hissed-locke-do-not-abandon-one-another-and-we-do/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“The ones who got away never really get away. Those sick bastards< i>changed us – have their fingerprints all over our lives – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roni-loren/the-ones-who-got-away-never-really-get-away-those-sick-bastards-i/) [Roni Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roni-loren/) > [UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS WILL ALWAYS BE UNGRATEFUL BECAUSE THAT IS WHO THEY ARE. THEY HAVE MANIPULATING THEIR WAY THROUGH LIFE SINCE BIRTH AND THERE IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/relentless/ungrateful-bastards-will-always-be-ungrateful-because-that-is-who/) Relentless > [“You bastards are on the top of Imperial Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's very own shit list now, you bet. But under what name? Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/you-bastards-are-on-the-top-of-imperial-lord-auditor-miles-vorkosigan/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Even the best of us are at least part-time bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/even-the-best-of-us-are-at-least-part-time-bastards/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [I just think Radiohead are f-in' miserable bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-just-think-radiohead-are-f-in-miserable-bastards/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don't let the bastards grind you down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/nolite-te-bastardes-carborundorum-don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“You’re one cruel bastard,” she managed to get out. He tsked with his tongue. “Everyone says that.” Then he took hold of her chin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-hardy/you-re-one-cruel-bastard-she-managed-to-get-out-he-tsked-with-his/) [Dianna Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-hardy/) > [All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-dwarfs-are-bastards-in-their-father-s-eyes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We were'nt nice at all, we were nasty little fucking bastards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-vicious/we-were-nt-nice-at-all-we-were-nasty-little-fucking-bastards/) [Sid Vicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-vicious/) > [We're going to find out who did this and we're going after the bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/we-re-going-to-find-out-who-did-this-and-we-re-going-after-the/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [“She should have suspected it. It had taken two heartbeats to note and catalog the man’s details, his tells and ticks. Sweaty, his face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-should-have-suspected-it-it-had-taken-two-heartbeats-to-note-and/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [They've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-ve-got-us-surrounded-again-the-poor-bastards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are the sons of no one, bastards of young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-koechner/we-are-the-sons-of-no-one-bastards-of-young/) [David Koechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-koechner/) Browse all 92 Bastards quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bastards" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/margaret-atwood-40_bastards_don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i_752362.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don’t let the bastards grind you down.’ I” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Don’t let the bastards grind you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-let-the-bastards-grind-you-down-i/#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 } } ] } ```