--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People can't concentrate properly on…" description: "\"“People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png" --- # People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people… ![“People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.” quote by Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png) > ““People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.”” [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When one's mind is cluttered with harmful thoughts, focus on destructive actions becomes impossible. **In simple terms:** Poisoned thoughts block focus on harm. Key Takeaway Clear the mind to act purposefully. Themes focus mindfulness intentionality Mood anxious reflective Type literary satirical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal discipline - stress management Key Concepts psychology mental clutter Questions to Reflect On - What thoughts cloud your focus? - How can you redirect mental energy positively? A Different Perspective Even a clear mind can be misused for harmful ends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fifth December](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifth-december-2319270/) [Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minds/) [Minds Poisoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minds-poisoned-2319268/) [Pieces Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces-minds-2319271/) [Poisoned Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poisoned-thoughts-2319269/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“The clerk observed that it was only once a year. “A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-clerk-observed-that-it-was-only-once-a-year-a-poor-excuse-for/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Our minds have been poisoned and our accepted beliefs are unnatural and artificial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/our-minds-have-been-poisoned-and-our-accepted-beliefs-are-unnatural/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What I love most about Her Majesty is that she has kept hats alive in people's minds for more than 60 years. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/what-i-love-most-about-her-majesty-is-that-she-has-kept-hats-alive-in/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [People who are right most of the time are people who change their minds often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/people-who-are-right-most-of-the-time-are-people-who-change-their/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-thant/wars-begin-in-the-minds-of-men-and-in-those-minds-love-and-compassion/) [U Thant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-thant/) > [I mean, the thing with Simple Minds is that there's many Simple Minds within Simple Minds. There was definitely an electronic art-rock phase; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-kerr/i-mean-the-thing-with-simple-minds-is-that-there-s-many-simple-minds/) [Jim Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-kerr/) > [Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of his servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-f-whitney/our-heavenly-father-is-far-more-merciful-infinitely-more-charitable/) [Orson F. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-f-whitney/) > [“Creativity means bringing simplicity to the existing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/creativity-means-bringing-simplicity-to-the-existing/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [What bothers me about TV is that it tends to take our minds off our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/what-bothers-me-about-tv-is-that-it-tends-to-take-our-minds-off-our/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [Bridge the gap with closed minds though careful dissection of ideas and solid presentation of fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillian-degenerez/bridge-the-gap-with-closed-minds-though-careful-dissection-of-ideas/) [Maximillian Degenerez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillian-degenerez/) > [“they're fucking up minds they do not own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/they-re-fucking-up-minds-they-do-not-own/) [jim carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [It would be a tragic mistake for us out here to imagine that Bush represents the hearts and the minds of the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/it-would-be-a-tragic-mistake-for-us-out-here-to-imagine-that-bush/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) ## More by Ogden Nash > [There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/there-is-only-one-way-to-achieve-happiness-on-this-terrestrial-ball/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Middle-aged life is merry, and I love to lead it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/middle-aged-life-is-merry-and-i-love-to-lead-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [When a lady's erotic life is vexed God knows what God is coming next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/when-a-lady-s-erotic-life-is-vexed-god-knows-what-god-is-coming-next/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Love is a word that is constantly heard, Hate is a word that is not. Love, I am told, is more precious that gold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/love-is-a-word-that-is-constantly-heard-hate-is-a-word-that-is-not/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [A husband is a guy who tells you when you've got on too much lipstick and helps you with your girdle when your hips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/a-husband-is-a-guy-who-tells-you-when-you-ve-got-on-too-much-lipstick/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Marriage is the alliance of two people, one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other never forgets them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/marriage-is-the-alliance-of-two-people-one-of-whom-never-remembers/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I claim there ain't Another Saint As great as Valentine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-claim-there-ain-t-another-saint-as-great-as-valentine/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Senescence begins And middle-age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/senescence-begins-and-middle-age-ends-the-day-your-descendants/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [Poets arent very usefulBecause they aren't consumeful or produceful..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/poets-arent-very-usefulbecause-they-aren-t-consumeful-or-produceful/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I don't mind their having a lot of money, and I don't care how they employ it, but I do think that they damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/i-don-t-mind-their-having-a-lot-of-money-and-i-don-t-care-how-they/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [To maintain your marriage brimming, with really like in the wedding cup, anytime you are incorrect, admit it each time you're proper, shut up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/to-maintain-your-marriage-brimming-with-really-like-in-the-wedding/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [No, you never get any fun Out of the things you haven't done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/no-you-never-get-any-fun-out-of-the-things-you-haven-t-done/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [“Which the Chicken and Which the Egg? He drinks because she scolds, he thinks; She thinks she scolds because he drinks; And nether will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/which-the-chicken-and-which-the-egg-he-drinks-because-she-scolds-he/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [My garden will never make me famous, I'm a horticultural ignoramus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/my-garden-will-never-make-me-famous-i-m-a-horticultural-ignoramus/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) [Explore all 261 Ogden Nash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## More Minds quotes > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What I love most about Her Majesty is that she has kept hats alive in people's minds for more than 60 years. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/what-i-love-most-about-her-majesty-is-that-she-has-kept-hats-alive-in/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [What bothers me about TV is that it tends to take our minds off our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/what-bothers-me-about-tv-is-that-it-tends-to-take-our-minds-off-our/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [People who are right most of the time are people who change their minds often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/people-who-are-right-most-of-the-time-are-people-who-change-their/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“they're fucking up minds they do not own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/they-re-fucking-up-minds-they-do-not-own/) [jim carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [Bridge the gap with closed minds though careful dissection of ideas and solid presentation of fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillian-degenerez/bridge-the-gap-with-closed-minds-though-careful-dissection-of-ideas/) [Maximillian Degenerez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillian-degenerez/) > [It would be a tragic mistake for us out here to imagine that Bush represents the hearts and the minds of the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/it-would-be-a-tragic-mistake-for-us-out-here-to-imagine-that-bush/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [“Creativity means bringing simplicity to the existing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/creativity-means-bringing-simplicity-to-the-existing/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of his servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-f-whitney/our-heavenly-father-is-far-more-merciful-infinitely-more-charitable/) [Orson F. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-f-whitney/) > [I mean, the thing with Simple Minds is that there's many Simple Minds within Simple Minds. There was definitely an electronic art-rock phase; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-kerr/i-mean-the-thing-with-simple-minds-is-that-there-s-many-simple-minds/) [Jim Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-kerr/) > [Wars begin in the minds of men, and in those minds, love and compassion would have built the defenses of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-thant/wars-begin-in-the-minds-of-men-and-in-those-minds-love-and-compassion/) [U Thant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-thant/) > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [None but ourselves can free our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/none-but-ourselves-can-free-our-minds/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) [Browse all 906 Minds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ogden Nash" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blowing-other-people-to-pieces/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Minds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blowing-other-people-to-pieces/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/542/ogden-nash-1286_minds_people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blo_228544.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts…” — Ogden Nash", "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": "Ogden Nash", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“People can't concentrate properly on blowing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blowing-other-people-to-pieces/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/people-can-t-concentrate-properly-on-blowing-other-people-to-pieces/#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 } } ] } ```