--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My parents were neither very poor nor…" description: "\"My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png" --- # My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest. ![“My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png) > “My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously notes that his parents were modestly off and not exceptionally truthful. **In simple terms:** Parents were average in wealth and honesty. Key Takeaway Recognize nuanced family backgrounds. Themes family honesty moderation humor Mood wry observational Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - discussing upbringing - evaluating honesty - reflecting on values Key Concepts social class ethical relativism self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What does this reveal about social expectations? - How does honesty affect family dynamics? A Different Perspective Humor may mask deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conspicuously Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspicuously-honest-789246/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Parents Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-poor-789245/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor Conspicuously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-conspicuously-789247/) ## Related quotes > [My parents were very poor, but we never felt any sense of need or want. It was a very close, loving, tightly-knit family growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-j-mitchell/my-parents-were-very-poor-but-we-never-felt-any-sense-of-need-or-want/) [George J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-j-mitchell/) > [That was the rule that you never mixed up troubles at home with life at school. When parents were poor or ignorant or mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/that-was-the-rule-that-you-never-mixed-up-troubles-at-home-with-life/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [I have real good parents. They poor. They have regular, poor jobs and what not. They real good people and what not; I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cardi-b/i-have-real-good-parents-they-poor-they-have-regular-poor-jobs-and/) [Cardi B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cardi-b/) > [I was from this small town, and my parents were poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-knowles/i-was-from-this-small-town-and-my-parents-were-poor/) [Tina Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-knowles/) > [Just because a child's parents are poor or uneducated is no reason to deprive the child of basic human rights to health care, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/just-because-a-child-s-parents-are-poor-or-uneducated-is-no-reason-to/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [My parents were not poor, I mean we were a very average middle-class family of academics, but my grandfather happened to have built house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-banerjee/my-parents-were-not-poor-i-mean-we-were-a-very-average-middle-class/) [Abhijit Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-banerjee/) > [My parents were so poor when I was a kid, I never went anywhere. I take our youngsters with us because I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ladd/my-parents-were-so-poor-when-i-was-a-kid-i-never-went-anywhere-i-take/) [Alan Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ladd/) > [What makes it all worth-while is what I've been able to do for my parents. They were poor and worked all their lives. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-clark/what-makes-it-all-worth-while-is-what-i-ve-been-able-to-do-for-my/) [Dave Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-clark/) > [One must keep one's character. Earn a character first if you can, and if you can't, then assume one. From the code of morals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/one-must-keep-one-s-character-earn-a-character-first-if-you-can-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Barring that natural expression of villainy which we all have, the man looked honest enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/barring-that-natural-expression-of-villainy-which-we-all-have-the-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Forgiving the men who killed my parents and brother was a process, a journey into deeper and deeper prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immaculee-ilibagiza/forgiving-the-men-who-killed-my-parents-and-brother-was-a-process-a/) [Immaculee Ilibagiza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immaculee-ilibagiza/) > [My mum's from Yorkshire and my parents aren't snotty or posh - they're very hard workers, both of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/my-mum-s-from-yorkshire-and-my-parents-aren-t-snotty-or-posh-they-re/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [Take the government away. Let the parents take care of their kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bickford/take-the-government-away-let-the-parents-take-care-of-their-kids/) [Bruce Bickford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bickford/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Honest quotes > [How strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-davis/how-strong-is-a-faith-that-can-t-stand-up-to-a-few-honest-questions/) [Kenneth C. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-davis/) > [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/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Tobacco is the passion of honest men and he who lives without tobacco is not worthy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/tobacco-is-the-passion-of-honest-men-and-he-who-lives-without-tobacco/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“RIGHT Do you do what feels right or what is seen right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/right-do-you-do-what-feels-right-or-what-is-seen-right/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I don't know - to be honest, I don't really model myself after anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/i-don-t-know-to-be-honest-i-don-t-really-model-myself-after-anybody/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [There's a certain edge about cruelty. If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I used to not be really honest with girls and then I dropped a song called Starry Room and then I started turning over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-smith/i-used-to-not-be-really-honest-with-girls-and-then-i-dropped-a-song/) [Jaden Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-smith/) > [Fuck perfect, I want honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djsovviet/fuck-perfect-i-want-honest/) [Djsovviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djsovviet/) > [If I'm honest, I think everything is funny. You've just got to find the right way in. When I'm at my happiest and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/if-i-m-honest-i-think-everything-is-funny-you-ve-just-got-to-find-the/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) > [I think managers see that I am honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lallana/i-think-managers-see-that-i-am-honest/) [Adam Lallana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lallana/) [Browse all 7,016 Honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-conspicuously-honest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-conspicuously-honest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/mark-twain-22_honest_my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-co_854848.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest.” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My parents were neither very poor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-conspicuously-honest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-parents-were-neither-very-poor-nor-conspicuously-honest/#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 } } ] } ```