--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never really recovered from the shock…" description: "\"I never really recovered from the shock of discovering that women do what we do; they save their best pairs for the nights when they are going to sleep..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/nick-hornby-325_adulthood_i-never-really-recovered-from-the-shock_723586.png" --- # I never really recovered from the shock of discovering… ![“I never really recovered from the shock of discovering that women do what we do; they save their best pairs for the nights when they are going to sleep with somebody. When you live with a woman, these faded, shrunken tatty scraps suddenly appear on radiators all over the house; your lascivious…” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/nick-hornby-325_adulthood_i-never-really-recovered-from-the-shock_723586.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/nick-hornby-325_adulthood_i-never-really-recovered-from-the-shock_723586.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/nick-hornby-325_adulthood_i-never-really-recovered-from-the-shock_723586.png) > “I never really recovered from the shock of discovering that women do what we do; they save their best pairs for the nights when they are going to sleep with somebody. When you live with a woman, these faded, shrunken tatty scraps suddenly appear on radiators all over the house; your lascivious schoolboy dreams of adulthood as a time when you are surrounded by exotic lingerie for ever and ever amen...those dreams crumble to dust.” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on sexual dynamics and the contrast between youthful fantasies and adult realities. **In simple terms:** Adult relationships differ from youthful fantasies. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between fantasy and reality. Themes relationships sexuality disillusionment Mood reflective melancholic Type observational literary When to use this quote - dating - cohabitation - sexual expectations Key Concepts gender dynamics fantasy vs reality Questions to Reflect On - How have your fantasies changed? - What expectations are realistic? A Different Perspective Idealized views may overlook practical aspects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amen/) [Discovering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovering/) [Discovering Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovering-women-2645440/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-adulthood-5682842/) [Dreams Crumble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-crumble-2082789/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Exotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exotic/) [Faded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faded/) [Going to sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-to-sleep/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Lingerie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lingerie/) [Lingerie Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lingerie-amen-5682843/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Pairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pairs/) [Scrap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrap/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [Because men have a history, it is difficult for them to imagine what it is like to grow up without one, or the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-chicago/because-men-have-a-history-it-is-difficult-for-them-to-imagine-what/) [Judy Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-chicago/) > [Locked in a cell and I see my dreams crumble, now I'm out chere buzzin you can here the bees bumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meek-mill/locked-in-a-cell-and-i-see-my-dreams-crumble-now-i-m-out-chere-buzzin/) [Meek Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meek-mill/) > [He dreamed of funeral love, but dreams crumble and the tomb abides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/he-dreamed-of-funeral-love-but-dreams-crumble-and-the-tomb-abides/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Everyone has known what it's like to see their dreams crumble. But these women...have found something more stable to hang onto. They're not content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-j-stokes/everyone-has-known-what-it-s-like-to-see-their-dreams-crumble-but/) [Penelope J. Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-j-stokes/) > [I don't know any lingerie brands that really embrace transgender women at all, to be honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-carrera/i-don-t-know-any-lingerie-brands-that-really-embrace-transgender/) [Carmen Carrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-carrera/) > [“Spence, I don't have balls. Good thing, too, because they'd look terrible in the lingerie I'm wearing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/spence-i-don-t-have-balls-good-thing-too-because-they-d-look-terrible/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [For me, wearing lingerie isn't about anyone else but me. If I dressed for others I would be a miserable person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-graham/for-me-wearing-lingerie-isn-t-about-anyone-else-but-me-if-i-dressed/) [Ashley Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-graham/) > [“Pursing my lips, I ask, “What do you know about lingerie?” A bark of a laugh, then, “Uh, I know women look good in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-aurora/pursing-my-lips-i-ask-what-do-you-know-about-lingerie-a-bark-of-a/) [Belle Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-aurora/) > [Here's the thing about lingerie: The only time we see it outside our own bedrooms, it is on women who are gloriously freakish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/here-s-the-thing-about-lingerie-the-only-time-we-see-it-outside-our/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Thanks for the memory Of lingerie with lace, Pilsner by the case And how I jumped the day you trumped my one-and-only ace How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-robin/thanks-for-the-memory-of-lingerie-with-lace-pilsner-by-the-case-and/) [Leo Robin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-robin/) > [“Taking a seat on the bed, Serena pulled out a lingerie set and held it against her own chest, her brows shooting up as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morgan/taking-a-seat-on-the-bed-serena-pulled-out-a-lingerie-set-and-held-it/) [Alex Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morgan/) > [“A G-string is a permanent self-inflicted wedgie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-g-string-is-a-permanent-self-inflicted-wedgie/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Well, when I was fifteen years old I worked in a lingerie store and that's how I feel in love with vintage lingerie because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/well-when-i-was-fifteen-years-old-i-worked-in-a-lingerie-store-and/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [The first thing you put on in the morning is your lingerie, and you have to look at yourself and tell yourself that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/the-first-thing-you-put-on-in-the-morning-is-your-lingerie-and-you/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I collect underwear from my travels. Lace, lingerie, bodysuits... they're like souvenirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/i-collect-underwear-from-my-travels-lace-lingerie-bodysuits-they-re/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. 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I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) [Guy Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-code/) > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. 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Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never really recovered from the shock of discovering that women do what we do; they save their best pairs for the nights when they are going to sleep with somebody. 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