--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once, as he inhaled with his customary…" description: "\"“Once, as he inhaled with his customary vehemence, I had a thought that made my armpits come alive.”\" — Martin Amis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg" --- # Once, as he inhaled with his customary vehemence, I had a… ![“Once, as he inhaled with his customary vehemence, I had a thought that made my armpits come alive.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg) > ““Once, as he inhaled with his customary vehemence, I had a thought that made my armpits come alive.”” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, intense inhalation triggers a sudden, unsettling thought, illustrating how physical sensations can spark unexpected mental images. **In simple terms:** Strong breaths can provoke surprising thoughts. Key Takeaway Notice how bodily sensations influence your mind. Themes sensory perception creativity psychology Mood introspective curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - meditation - public speaking - stress management Key Concepts mind‑body connection imagination Questions to Reflect On - What sensations precede your ideas? - How can you channel them productively? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on physical cues may distract from rational thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armpits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armpits/) [Armpits Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armpits-come-2519011/) [Inhaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhaled-1153773/) [Inhaled Customary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inhaled-customary-2519012/) [Thought Armpits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-armpits-2519010/) ## Related quotes > [“Poetry is no more a narcotic than a stimulant; it is a universal bittersweet mixture for all possible household emergencies and its action varies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/poetry-is-no-more-a-narcotic-than-a-stimulant-it-is-a-universal/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [I have inhaled, exhaled everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-have-inhaled-exhaled-everything/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [“My mother inhaled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/my-mother-inhaled/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“After about ten seconds, he inhaled and shook”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-clayton/after-about-ten-seconds-he-inhaled-and-shook/) [Alice Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-clayton/) > [“I just inhaled kimchi ramen. Nose on fire. Next chapter may be obscured by tears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mcm/i-just-inhaled-kimchi-ramen-nose-on-fire-next-chapter-may-be-obscured/) [MCM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mcm/) > [“guy.” Jessie slowly inhaled and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/guy-jessie-slowly-inhaled-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every puff was like sucking in the abyss, yet he inhaled until his lungs filled with toxic smoke that clouded his thoughts of her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-mostafa/every-puff-was-like-sucking-in-the-abyss-yet-he-inhaled-until-his/) [Ahmed Mostafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-mostafa/) > [“Her foot squished into the soft ground as she walked. She stooped down and pressed her fingers into the damp earth. Raising them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-d-burns/her-foot-squished-into-the-soft-ground-as-she-walked-she-stooped-down/) [Vernon D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-d-burns/) > [ I do believe that \[Bill\] Clinton never inhaled ...because when I met him, he had no idea who I was. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-chong/i-do-believe-that-bill-clinton-never-inhaled-because-when-i-met-him/) [Tommy Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-chong/) > [“There was something unnatural, a little unhealthy, about the way she inhaled Veda's smell as she dedicated the rest of her life to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/there-was-something-unnatural-a-little-unhealthy-about-the-way-she/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [“Oh, don't mind Humpty. He's inhaled a hell of a lot of super-glue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-willingham/oh-don-t-mind-humpty-he-s-inhaled-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-super-glue/) [Bill Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-willingham/) > [“Eleanor wrapped her arms around aniel's neck as he lowered her feet to the cold floor. She leaned into him and inhaled his scent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/eleanor-wrapped-her-arms-around-aniel-s-neck-as-he-lowered-her-feet/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [What... are you?" she choked out. "No sunlight. Funky choppers." he inhaled raggedly. "Take a guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/what-are-you-she-choked-out-no-sunlight-funky-choppers-he-inhaled/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“Lena was going down the list of John's attributes in her mind, a list I was hoping wasn't too long. "He could see and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/lena-was-going-down-the-list-of-john-s-attributes-in-her-mind-a-list/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/when-i-was-a-kid-i-inhaled-frequently-that-was-the-point/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Martin Amis > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More Armpits quotes > [Babies like fat. Like to bury they face up in you armpit and go to sleep. They like big fat legs too. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/babies-like-fat-like-to-bury-they-face-up-in-you-armpit-and-go-to/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink? Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells foul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/art-thou-angry-with-him-whose-armpits-stink-art-thou-angry-with-him/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Feminists were psyched that I had armpit hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-cole/feminists-were-psyched-that-i-had-armpit-hair/) [Paula Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-cole/) > [She's so hairy - when she lifted up her arm I thought it was Tina Turner in her armpit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/she-s-so-hairy-when-she-lifted-up-her-arm-i-thought-it-was-tina/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I never did a dirty armpit. You can look dirty, but you can't be dirty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-moss/i-never-did-a-dirty-armpit-you-can-look-dirty-but-you-can-t-be-dirty/) [Kate Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-moss/) > [I don't know my armpit from my elbow in Los Angeles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-schilling/i-don-t-know-my-armpit-from-my-elbow-in-los-angeles/) [Taylor Schilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-schilling/) > [Henri IV's feet and armpits enjoyed an international reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/henri-iv-s-feet-and-armpits-enjoyed-an-international-reputation/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [A cloak of invisibility? This is a highly sensitive piece of field equipment. What does he think? Some warlock pulled it out of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/a-cloak-of-invisibility-this-is-a-highly-sensitive-piece-of-field/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [If you keep your armpits open, you won't get depressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/if-you-keep-your-armpits-open-you-won-t-get-depressed/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Let's talk about how to fill out your 1984 tax return. Here's an often overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands of dollars:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/let-s-talk-about-how-to-fill-out-your-1984-tax-return-here-s-an-often/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Lizzie ignored the hair in her armpits and on her legs. It had gone from stubble to dark hair. F\*\*\* it. End of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-slater/lizzie-ignored-the-hair-in-her-armpits-and-on-her-legs-it-had-gone/) [Robert L. Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-slater/) > [I love the smell of armpits in the morning. It's like victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-love-the-smell-of-armpits-in-the-morning-it-s-like-victory/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [When you find your soulmate, you could sleep under their armpits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mills/when-you-find-your-soulmate-you-could-sleep-under-their-armpits/) [Heather Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mills/) > [Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has them, But some stink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/opinions-are-like-armpits-everybody-has-them-but-some-stink/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“There was a certain something about the air in the city. You got the feeling that it was air that had seen life. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-a-certain-something-about-the-air-in-the-city-you-got-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 62 Armpits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armpits/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once, as he inhaled with his customary vehemence, I had a thought that made my armpits come alive.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Amis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-vehemence-i-had-a-thought-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Armpits" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-vehemence-i-had-a-thought-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/martin-amis-704_armpits_once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-ve_2673021.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once, as he inhaled with his customary vehemence, I had a thought that made my armpits come alive.” — Martin Amis", "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": "Martin Amis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Once, as he inhaled with his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-vehemence-i-had-a-thought-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/once-as-he-inhaled-with-his-customary-vehemence-i-had-a-thought-that/#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 } } ] } ```