--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before he could bring his lips together…" description: "\"“Before he could bring his lips together, his teeth fell, no, actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth.”\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png" --- # Before he could bring his lips together, his teeth fell… ![“Before he could bring his lips together, his teeth fell, no, actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png) > ““Before he could bring his lips together, his teeth fell, no, actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth.”” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## 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, surreal image of teeth detaching illustrates sudden loss of speech or expression. **In simple terms:** Teeth falling shows loss of speech. Key Takeaway Guard your words and expression. Themes communication expression vulnerability Mood reflective poetic Type literary metaphorical When to use this quote - public speaking - creative writing - personal conflict Key Concepts metaphor surrealism loss of voice Questions to Reflect On - What does losing your voice mean to you? - How can you protect your ability to speak? A Different Perspective May be hyperbolic, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually-teeth-2325103/) [Jumped Mouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jumped-mouth-2325100/) [Lips Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips-teeth-2325102/) [Teeth Fell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth-fell-2325101/) [Teeth Jumped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth-jumped-2325099/) ## Related quotes > [“Four months to the day he first encountered the boy at Walmart, the last of Phil Pendleton's teeth fell out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/four-months-to-the-day-he-first-encountered-the-boy-at-walmart-the/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [It took only seconds for me to make these discoveries, but even in that short time, my stomach nearly jumped through my mouth trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/it-took-only-seconds-for-me-to-make-these-discoveries-but-even-in/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“Hate looks like everybody else until it smiles. Until it spins around and lies with lips and teeth carved into semblance of something too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/hate-looks-like-everybody-else-until-it-smiles-until-it-spins-around/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Hate looks just like everybody else until it smiles. 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Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Before he could bring his lips together, his teeth fell, no, actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together-his-teeth-fell-no-actually/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Teeth Jumped" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together-his-teeth-fell-no-actually/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/maya-angelou-104_teeth-jumped_before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together_1027167.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Before he could bring his lips together, his teeth fell, no, actually his teeth jumped, out of his mouth.” — Maya Angelou", "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": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Before he could bring his lips...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together-his-teeth-fell-no-actually/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/before-he-could-bring-his-lips-together-his-teeth-fell-no-actually/#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 } } ] } ```