--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"Compromise\" means giving up more than…" description: "\"\"Compromise\" means giving up more than the other side is big enough to take; if and when they have the muscle, they'll be back for more, regardless of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/neal-knox-78405_back-doors_compromise-means-giving-up-more-than-the_53904.jpg" --- # "Compromise" means giving up more than the other side is… ![“"Compromise" means giving up more than the other side is big enough to take; if and when they have the muscle, they'll be back for more, regardless of what has been given up in an attempt to appear reasonable. You can't make a cur dog stay away from your back door by throwing an occasional bone at…” quote by Neal Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/neal-knox-78405_back-doors_compromise-means-giving-up-more-than-the_53904.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/neal-knox-78405_back-doors_compromise-means-giving-up-more-than-the_53904.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce6/neal-knox-78405_back-doors_compromise-means-giving-up-more-than-the_53904.jpg) > “"Compromise" means giving up more than the other side is big enough to take; if and when they have the muscle, they'll be back for more, regardless of what has been given up in an attempt to appear reasonable. You can't make a cur dog stay away from your back door by throwing an occasional bone at him.” Neal Knox ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compromise often entails conceding beyond what is necessary, inviting further demands from a stronger opponent who sees the concession as a weakness. **In simple terms:** Unequal concessions empower the stronger party. Key Takeaway Concessions can be exploited. Themes Power dynamics Negotiation tactics Human behavior Strategic thinking Risk assessment Mood Cautious Strategic Skeptical Type Observation Warning When to use this quote - Business negotiations - Diplomatic talks - Personal relationships - Legal settlements Key Concepts Leverage Boundaries Reciprocity Practical Applications - Negotiation training - Conflict resolution strategies Questions to Reflect On - When is a concession strategic rather than a weakness? - How can you protect against repeated exploitation after a compromise? A Different Perspective A well‑timed concession can build trust and lead to lasting agreements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Back doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back-doors/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) ## Related quotes > [For us, compromise never means surrender, but a step forward and some rest. That is all and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-singh/for-us-compromise-never-means-surrender-but-a-step-forward-and-some/) [Bhagat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-singh/) > [I don't think there's anything in the compromise that means that there's a clash of ethics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-in-the-compromise-that-means-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [It's time to recognize what compromise means: no side wins or loses all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/it-s-time-to-recognize-what-compromise-means-no-side-wins-or-loses-all/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [When I say compromise I do not mean capitulation. When I say compromise I definitely do not mean what Jesus Christ meant when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-say-compromise-i-do-not-mean-capitulation-when-i-say/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Compromise, contrary to popular opinion, does not mean selling out one's principles. Compromise means working out differences to forge a solution which fits the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/compromise-contrary-to-popular-opinion-does-not-mean-selling-out-one/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Let me make it very clear: when I say compromise I do not mean capitulation. When I say compromise I definitely do not mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/let-me-make-it-very-clear-when-i-say-compromise-i-do-not-mean/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Compromise means to go just a little bit below what you know is right. It's just a little bit, but it's the little foxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/compromise-means-to-go-just-a-little-bit-below-what-you-know-is-right/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Love means giving someone the chance to hurt you, but trusting them not to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-means-giving-someone-the-chance-to-hurt-you-but-trusting-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So if diva means giving your best, then yes, I guess I am a diva.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/so-if-diva-means-giving-your-best-then-yes-i-guess-i-am-a-diva/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [We must never make our parents sad, even if this means giving up everything that makes us happy..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-must-never-make-our-parents-sad-even-if-this-means-giving-up/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Don’t think this means I’m giving you all my secrets. There is more to me than you will ever know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/don-t-think-this-means-i-m-giving-you-all-my-secrets-there-is-more-to/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [Love means giving something you don't have to someone who doesn't want it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lacan/love-means-giving-something-you-don-t-have-to-someone-who-doesn-t/) [Jacques Lacan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lacan/) > [Sacrifice really means giving up something good for something better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/sacrifice-really-means-giving-up-something-good-for-something-better/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Christmas means giving. The Father gave his Son, and the Son gave his life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/christmas-means-giving-the-father-gave-his-son-and-the-son-gave-his/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) ## More by Neal Knox > [Without freedom there will be no firearms among the people; without firearms among the people there will not long be freedom. Certainly there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-knox/without-freedom-there-will-be-no-firearms-among-the-people-without/) Neal Knox > [You can fight a porcupine and win, but if other folks get a look at you they may think it's a bad idea to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-knox/you-can-fight-a-porcupine-and-win-but-if-other-folks-get-a-look-at/) Neal Knox Explore all 3 Neal Knox quotes ## More Back doors quotes > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I don't think it's a very Christian thing to come in by the back door rather than the front door,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-don-t-think-it-s-a-very-christian-thing-to-come-in-by-the-back-door/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [Last night we had three small zucchini for dinner that were grown within fifty feet of our back door. I estimate they cost somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/last-night-we-had-three-small-zucchini-for-dinner-that-were-grown/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [If the wolf had ever come to our back door, he'd have had to bring a picnic lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-anderson/if-the-wolf-had-ever-come-to-our-back-door-he-d-have-had-to-bring-a/) [Bill Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-anderson/) > [The Government have consistently made it clear that the mechanism in the United Kingdom whereby the European draft constitutional treaty could be implemented is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/the-government-have-consistently-made-it-clear-that-the-mechanism-in/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [To fight oppression, and to work as best we can for a sane organization of society, we do not have to abandon the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/to-fight-oppression-and-to-work-as-best-we-can-for-a-sane/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [I don't know if I call myself a poet or not. I would like to, but I'm not really qualified to make that decision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-know-if-i-call-myself-a-poet-or-not-i-would-like-to-but-i-m/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Fiction allows for moral questioning, but through the back door. Personally, I like books that make you think - books you're still wondering about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/fiction-allows-for-moral-questioning-but-through-the-back-door/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Comedy's been really liberating for me because I've been able to sneak the singing part in through the back door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-gasteyer/comedy-s-been-really-liberating-for-me-because-i-ve-been-able-to/) [Ana Gasteyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-gasteyer/) > [Sneaking out the back door to hand out with those hoodlum friends of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/sneaking-out-the-back-door-to-hand-out-with-those-hoodlum-friends-of/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [marrows - alas! - are arriving in a steady stream at the back door. ... Oddly enough, the majority of people who grow them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miss-read/marrows-alas-are-arriving-in-a-steady-stream-at-the-back-door-oddly/) [Miss Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miss-read/) > [In regard to tenacity of life, no old yellow cat has anything on a prejudice. You may kill it with your own hands, bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/in-regard-to-tenacity-of-life-no-old-yellow-cat-has-anything-on-a/) [Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/) > [I'm also conscious of what this confidence that has been placed in me means. I'm going to the Games through the back door but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-boukpeti/i-m-also-conscious-of-what-this-confidence-that-has-been-placed-in-me/) [Benjamin Boukpeti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-boukpeti/) > [ We both \[with Alixandra Kolesky MacKenzie\] got into ceramics, you might say, by the back door. Looking back on it, I think this was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/we-both-with-alixandra-kolesky-mackenzie-got-into-ceramics-you-might/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [When enthusiasm runs in the front door, worry runs out the back door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/when-enthusiasm-runs-in-the-front-door-worry-runs-out-the-back-door/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) [Browse all 58 Back doors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back-doors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "\"Compromise\" means giving up more than the other side is big enough to take; if and when they have the muscle, they'll be back for more, regardless of what has been given up in an attempt to appear reasonable. 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