--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You are a coward when you even seem to…" description: "\"You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down from a thing you openly set out to do\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png" --- # You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down… ![“You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down from a thing you openly set out to do” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png) > “You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down from a thing you openly set out to do” [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. Avoiding a challenge you publicly committed to makes you a coward. **In simple terms:** Backing down from a declared goal shows cowardice. Key Takeaway Follow through on public commitments. Themes courage integrity commitment Mood challenging inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - public speaking - goal setting - accountability partners - personal pledges Key Concepts public promise personal bravery accountability self‑respect Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from keeping promises? - How can you build resilience to follow through? A Different Perspective Fear of failure may hinder honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“I am quite possibly the world's bravest coward. I have never backed down from backing down from a fight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-am-quite-possibly-the-world-s-bravest-coward-i-have-never-backed/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Except a person be part coward, it is not a compliment to say he is brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/except-a-person-be-part-coward-it-is-not-a-compliment-to-say-he-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We all live in the protection of certain cowardices which we call our principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-all-live-in-the-protection-of-certain-cowardices-which-we-call-our/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Well, a general danger of punditry is that there's very little incentive to change your position or admit error. If you reverse your position,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/well-a-general-danger-of-punditry-is-that-there-s-very-little/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [Yes, I backed the hula hoop. And I had a lot of other people come to me with ideas that turned out well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/yes-i-backed-the-hula-hoop-and-i-had-a-lot-of-other-people-come-to-me/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [There will always be, within a party, people who backed one candidate versus people who backed another, and there will be factions in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/there-will-always-be-within-a-party-people-who-backed-one-candidate/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I'm not backed by the super PACs and the big corporations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/i-m-not-backed-by-the-super-pacs-and-the-big-corporations/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [It is best to be born in April or August when the life-giving Sun is in its exaltation sign Aries or Leo, its home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/it-is-best-to-be-born-in-april-or-august-when-the-life-giving-sun-is/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [There are many people who believe in me and have backed me. I owe it to them - and not just to myself -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravichandran-ashwin/there-are-many-people-who-believe-in-me-and-have-backed-me-i-owe-it/) [Ravichandran Ashwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravichandran-ashwin/) > [Our fanbase have always backed the music. They will follow you through the depths of hell and that's something I love about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calum-hood/our-fanbase-have-always-backed-the-music-they-will-follow-you-through/) [Calum Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calum-hood/) > [Yes, we were looking for a Faith spin-off, but then Faith backed down. Eliza got a really wonderful offer over on Fox in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsters/yes-we-were-looking-for-a-faith-spin-off-but-then-faith-backed-down/) [James Marsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsters/) > [I think one game we played the Oakland Raiders and Jack Tatum and I had an accident on the one-yard line. The only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-campbell/i-think-one-game-we-played-the-oakland-raiders-and-jack-tatum-and-i/) [Earl Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-campbell/) > [My songs are all about celebrating poignant music. While some of them focus on fun and revelry, they are fortunately backed by powerful lyrics.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-kher/my-songs-are-all-about-celebrating-poignant-music-while-some-of-them/) [Kailash Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-kher/) > [We have to start processing what we're really made of in America. American character is not dead. American integrity and honesty are not dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/we-have-to-start-processing-what-we-re-really-made-of-in-america/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Basically, Pizza Hut just backed out on the ad agency at the last minute. They got fired and we got fired. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-ween/basically-pizza-hut-just-backed-out-on-the-ad-agency-at-the-last/) [Gene Ween](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-ween/) ## 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 Backed quotes > [Basically, Pizza Hut just backed out on the ad agency at the last minute. They got fired and we got fired. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-ween/basically-pizza-hut-just-backed-out-on-the-ad-agency-at-the-last/) [Gene Ween](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-ween/) > [We have to start processing what we're really made of in America. American character is not dead. American integrity and honesty are not dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/we-have-to-start-processing-what-we-re-really-made-of-in-america/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [My songs are all about celebrating poignant music. While some of them focus on fun and revelry, they are fortunately backed by powerful lyrics.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-kher/my-songs-are-all-about-celebrating-poignant-music-while-some-of-them/) [Kailash Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-kher/) > [I think one game we played the Oakland Raiders and Jack Tatum and I had an accident on the one-yard line. The only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-campbell/i-think-one-game-we-played-the-oakland-raiders-and-jack-tatum-and-i/) [Earl Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-campbell/) > [Yes, we were looking for a Faith spin-off, but then Faith backed down. Eliza got a really wonderful offer over on Fox in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsters/yes-we-were-looking-for-a-faith-spin-off-but-then-faith-backed-down/) [James Marsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsters/) > [Our fanbase have always backed the music. They will follow you through the depths of hell and that's something I love about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calum-hood/our-fanbase-have-always-backed-the-music-they-will-follow-you-through/) [Calum Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calum-hood/) > [There are many people who believe in me and have backed me. I owe it to them - and not just to myself -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravichandran-ashwin/there-are-many-people-who-believe-in-me-and-have-backed-me-i-owe-it/) [Ravichandran Ashwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravichandran-ashwin/) > [It is best to be born in April or August when the life-giving Sun is in its exaltation sign Aries or Leo, its home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/it-is-best-to-be-born-in-april-or-august-when-the-life-giving-sun-is/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [I'm not backed by the super PACs and the big corporations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/i-m-not-backed-by-the-super-pacs-and-the-big-corporations/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [There will always be, within a party, people who backed one candidate versus people who backed another, and there will be factions in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/there-will-always-be-within-a-party-people-who-backed-one-candidate/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Yes, I backed the hula hoop. And I had a lot of other people come to me with ideas that turned out well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/yes-i-backed-the-hula-hoop-and-i-had-a-lot-of-other-people-come-to-me/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [Well, a general danger of punditry is that there's very little incentive to change your position or admit error. If you reverse your position,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/well-a-general-danger-of-punditry-is-that-there-s-very-little/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [I moved further and further away from mass entertainment. The sexual element became increasingly sinister and bizarre. Don't blame me! The bastards drove me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/i-moved-further-and-further-away-from-mass-entertainment-the-sexual/) [Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/) > [Every presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romney's is backed by the Mormon belief that the United States was chosen by God to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-kantor/every-presidential-candidate-highlights-patriotism-but-mr-romney-s-is/) [Jodi Kantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-kantor/) > [I've been chastised for going into mixed martial arts and backing out. But the reason I backed out was the terms - they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-angle/i-ve-been-chastised-for-going-into-mixed-martial-arts-and-backing-out/) [Kurt Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-angle/) Browse all 55 Backed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down from a thing you openly set out to do", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-have-backed-down-from-a-thing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-have-backed-down-from-a-thing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e8/mark-twain-22_backed_you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-h_150761.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You are a coward when you even seem to have backed down from a thing you openly set out to do” — 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": "You are a coward when you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-have-backed-down-from-a-thing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-are-a-coward-when-you-even-seem-to-have-backed-down-from-a-thing/#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 } } ] } ```