--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some people become so expert at reading…" description: "\"Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines.\" — Margaret Millar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png" --- # Some people become so expert at reading between the lines… ![“Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines.” quote by Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png) > “Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines.” [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can become so skilled at interpreting hidden meanings that they neglect the obvious, missing direct information. **In simple terms:** Over‑analysis blinds to the obvious. Key Takeaway Balance analysis with direct observation. Themes analysis perception communication Mood cautious thoughtful Type cognitive reflective When to use this quote - reading comprehension - decision making - creative work Key Concepts critical thinking mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - When is reading between lines valuable? - How can we avoid over‑analysis? A Different Perspective The quote assumes reading between lines is always negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Between the lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/between-the-lines/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Between The Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-between-the-lines/) ## Related quotes > [The art of reading between the lines is as old as manipulated information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/the-art-of-reading-between-the-lines-is-as-old-as-manipulated/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) > [“Never mind reading between the lines, try reading what's on them first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-louise-kelly/never-mind-reading-between-the-lines-try-reading-what-s-on-them-first/) [Teri Louise Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teri-louise-kelly/) > [“I have always been good at reading, but I have never been good at reading between the lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lake/i-have-always-been-good-at-reading-but-i-have-never-been-good-at/) [Nick Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lake/) > [“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said. The art of reading between the lines is a life long quest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-most-important-thing-in-communication-is-hearing-what-isn-t-being/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [You get used to the exact amount of space between lines. You write a word and then you write an alternate word over it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/you-get-used-to-the-exact-amount-of-space-between-lines-you-write-a/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [Read between the lines.Then meet me in the silence if you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/read-between-the-lines-then-meet-me-in-the-silence-if-you-can/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Read between the lines and free your mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/read-between-the-lines-and-free-your-mind/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/to-read-between-the-lines-was-easier-than-to-follow-the-text/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [We like books that have a lot of dreck in them, matter which presents itself as not wholly relevant (or indeed, at all relevant)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/we-like-books-that-have-a-lot-of-dreck-in-them-matter-which-presents/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [It is?classic Bill Clinton, sincere and deceptive at the same time, requiring a careful reading between the lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/it-is-classic-bill-clinton-sincere-and-deceptive-at-the-same-time/) [David Maraniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maraniss/) > [Few stories are written about what happens to the princess after the wedding. Reading between the lines of other stories, we can sketch out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-debold/few-stories-are-written-about-what-happens-to-the-princess-after-the/) [Elizabeth Debold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-debold/) > [The truth is that every true admirer of the novels cherishes the happy thought that he alone - reading between the lines - has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/the-truth-is-that-every-true-admirer-of-the-novels-cherishes-the/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [You – help - people. You are an expert in your field, who genuinely helps other human beings. Take pride in that, stop hawking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/you-help-people-you-are-an-expert-in-your-field-who-genuinely-helps/) [Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/) > [I'm am an expert at reading lips especially when it's not moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-m-am-an-expert-at-reading-lips-especially-when-it-s-not-moving/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [A writer is a palmist, reading the lines of the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/a-writer-is-a-palmist-reading-the-lines-of-the-planet/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) ## More by Margaret Millar > [You have what is known as a lot of character, meaning you can be wrong at the top of your lungs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/you-have-what-is-known-as-a-lot-of-character-meaning-you-can-be-wrong/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [Shrews are made, not born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/shrews-are-made-not-born/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [Civilization has imposed countless restrictions and conventions on each of us, with the result that the subconscious in the majority of us has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/civilization-has-imposed-countless-restrictions-and-conventions-on/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [The day will probably come when you can tell everything about a person from his dreams except his age and weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/the-day-will-probably-come-when-you-can-tell-everything-about-a/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [the smell of lilacs crept poignantly into the room like a remembered spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/the-smell-of-lilacs-crept-poignantly-into-the-room-like-a-remembered/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [the emotions at death, as at birth, are instinctive and primitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/the-emotions-at-death-as-at-birth-are-instinctive-and-primitive/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [Private problems don't constitute an excuse for bad manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/private-problems-don-t-constitute-an-excuse-for-bad-manners/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [Don't borrow trouble. The interest is too high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/don-t-borrow-trouble-the-interest-is-too-high/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [I wish people would quit telling me to think. I think. Thinking's easy. It's not thinking that's hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/i-wish-people-would-quit-telling-me-to-think-i-think-thinking-s-easy/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [When you're counting alibis and not apples, one plus one equals none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/when-you-re-counting-alibis-and-not-apples-one-plus-one-equals-none/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [The smell of moist earth and lilacs hung in the air like wisps of the past and hints of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/the-smell-of-moist-earth-and-lilacs-hung-in-the-air-like-wisps-of-the/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [Common sense is a vastly overrated virtue. I myself prefer the spark of genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/common-sense-is-a-vastly-overrated-virtue-i-myself-prefer-the-spark/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [I didn't mind giving up carnality, jewelry and red meat in return for comradeship and an afterlife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/i-didn-t-mind-giving-up-carnality-jewelry-and-red-meat-in-return-for/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [You can't drown your troubles ... because troubles can swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/you-can-t-drown-your-troubles-because-troubles-can-swim/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) > [The world of maps is nice and flat and simple. It has areas for people and areas for monsters. What a shock it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/the-world-of-maps-is-nice-and-flat-and-simple-it-has-areas-for-people/) [Margaret Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) [Explore all 32 Margaret Millar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/) Philip Selznick > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Millar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading-between-the-lines-they-don-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assumption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading-between-the-lines-they-don-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/margaret-millar-19531_assumption_some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading_2044840.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines.” — Margaret Millar", "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 Millar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-millar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Some people become so expert at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading-between-the-lines-they-don-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-millar/some-people-become-so-expert-at-reading-between-the-lines-they-don-t/#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 } } ] } ```