--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at…" description: "\"The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at time, which may seem to retreat, but then keeps on coming.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png" --- # The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at time, which may… ![“The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at time, which may seem to retreat, but then keeps on coming.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png) > “The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at time, which may seem to retreat, but then keeps on coming.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Time’s relentless passage cuts through life, seeming to retreat but always returns. **In simple terms:** Time never stops cutting us. Key Takeaway Accept and use time wisely. Themes time impermanence inevitability Mood contemplative serene Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - planning - mindfulness - legacy building Key Concepts philosophy poetry life cycles Questions to Reflect On - How to make peace with time’s flow? - What actions honor time’s passage? A Different Perspective Time’s pressure can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Plastic surgeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plastic-surgeons/) [Surgeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgeons/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [A well-off plastic surgeon can suffer just as much as an Irish lad who has been abused or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nicholson/a-well-off-plastic-surgeon-can-suffer-just-as-much-as-an-irish-lad/) [William Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nicholson/) > [I see myself at a certain age as not being able to play the kind of parts that would keep me stimulated, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-shue/i-see-myself-at-a-certain-age-as-not-being-able-to-play-the-kind-of/) [Elisabeth Shue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-shue/) > [It's a plastic surgeon you need, not a doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/it-s-a-plastic-surgeon-you-need-not-a-doctor/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [If you build a career on being a beautiful young woman, that's going to be a short career. I have to establish I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-donohoe/if-you-build-a-career-on-being-a-beautiful-young-woman-that-s-going/) [Amanda Donohoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-donohoe/) > [A woman went to a plastic surgeon and asked him to make her like Bo Derek. He gave her a lobotomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/a-woman-went-to-a-plastic-surgeon-and-asked-him-to-make-her-like-bo/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [“There’s something wrong about trying to heal with a surgeon’s knife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/there-s-something-wrong-about-trying-to-heal-with-a-surgeon-s-knife/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I can 100 percent tell you that I have not gone under the surgeon's knife or had a facelift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-warne/i-can-100-percent-tell-you-that-i-have-not-gone-under-the-surgeon-s/) [Shane Warne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-warne/) > [“Nostalgia can be more painful than a surgeon's knife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-shourie/nostalgia-can-be-more-painful-than-a-surgeon-s-knife/) [Anurag Shourie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-shourie/) > [I may be married to a plastic surgeon, but I'm 98 percent real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-dubrow/i-may-be-married-to-a-plastic-surgeon-but-i-m-98-percent-real/) [Heather Dubrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-dubrow/) > [One thing to remember on the Eiger, never look up, or you may need a plastic surgeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-whillans/one-thing-to-remember-on-the-eiger-never-look-up-or-you-may-need-a/) Don Whillans > [“He strangle her before or after he cut her up?” “There was some clotting in the knife slashes on her face, so I’d have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/he-strangle-her-before-or-after-he-cut-her-up-there-was-some-clotting/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [If you walk into a plastic surgeon's office he's going to tell you to get plastic surgery, whether or not that's good for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-dubrow/if-you-walk-into-a-plastic-surgeon-s-office-he-s-going-to-tell-you-to/) [Terry Dubrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-dubrow/) > [As a plastic surgeon, I know the skin better than anybody because I see it in all the different layers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nassif/as-a-plastic-surgeon-i-know-the-skin-better-than-anybody-because-i/) [Paul Nassif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nassif/) > [I had a friend who was a plastic surgeon, so he would do little things. I never had, like, a full thing. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-had-a-friend-who-was-a-plastic-surgeon-so-he-would-do-little-things/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [If you had asked me what I wanted when I was 12 years old, I probably would have said, 'To marry a plastic surgeon.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-had-asked-me-what-i-wanted-when-i-was-12-years-old-i-probably/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Knife quotes > [“Next time," I said wryly, swinging open the door, "just give me a knife and ask for a vein.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/next-time-i-said-wryly-swinging-open-the-door-just-give-me-a-knife/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [“The cold cut like a many bladed knife”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-zangwill/the-cold-cut-like-a-many-bladed-knife/) [Israel Zangwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-zangwill/) > [I'm still stupid. I still do what I'm not supposed to do. Are you serious? I'm Jake 'The Snake,' man. I never claimed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-roberts/i-m-still-stupid-i-still-do-what-i-m-not-supposed-to-do-are-you/) [Jake Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-roberts/) > [“If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fike/if-you-are-a-big-eater-put-a-knife-to-your-throat/) [Al Fike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fike/) > [“Sharp like a spoon, that one. Anyway,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-cross/sharp-like-a-spoon-that-one-anyway/) [Ethan Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-cross/) > [“There was never a good knife made of bad steel ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-never-a-good-knife-made-of-bad-steel/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Power is like a knife. It can be used to cut bread to share with your neighbor or stab you in the back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiqua-hamdan/power-is-like-a-knife-it-can-be-used-to-cut-bread-to-share-with-your/) [Sadiqua Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiqua-hamdan/) > [“Tobiah was Black Knife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-meadows/tobiah-was-black-knife/) [Jodi Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-meadows/) > [“Anger dulls the blade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hollow/anger-dulls-the-blade/) Hollow > [What is that in his hand?" "A cleaver. As in-" "Butcher's knife." "You got it." "I hope not." "He does not look happy." "Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-pearson/what-is-that-in-his-hand-a-cleaver-as-in-butcher-s-knife-you-got-it-i/) [Ridley Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-pearson/) > [“I have a knife in my hand, slicing beef on the willowware plate, and I cut harder, faster, thinking it is your pink neck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-turner/i-have-a-knife-in-my-hand-slicing-beef-on-the-willowware-plate-and-i/) Ann Turner > [Blood fills my mouth. Fire sears my veins. I choke back a howl. The silver knife slips--the choice is mine. I am death or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/blood-fills-my-mouth-fire-sears-my-veins-i-choke-back-a-howl-the/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) > [Remember, it is never the knife's fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boulud/remember-it-is-never-the-knife-s-fault/) [Daniel Boulud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boulud/) > [Sorry, the knife just slipped, I didn't mean to cut my wrists. I was just thinking of all the bad things that happened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sorry-the-knife-just-slipped-i-didn-t-mean-to-cut-my-wrists-i-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't try to hug me with one hand when your hiding a knife in the other. If your gonna take a stab at me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brii-ann/don-t-try-to-hug-me-with-one-hand-when-your-hiding-a-knife-in-the/) [Brii Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brii-ann/) Browse all 577 Knife quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at time, which may seem to retreat, but then keeps on coming.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-time-which-may-seem-to-retreat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knife" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-time-which-may-seem-to-retreat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6e/mason-cooley-92_knife_the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-t_2945327.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at time, which may seem to retreat, but then keeps on coming.” — Mason Cooley", "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": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The plastic surgeon's knife slashes at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-time-which-may-seem-to-retreat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-plastic-surgeon-s-knife-slashes-at-time-which-may-seem-to-retreat/#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 } } ] } ```