--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One bachelor is an irritation. Ten…" description: "\"One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war.\" — Orson Scott Card" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/orson-scott-card-134_bachelor_one-bachelor-is-an-irritation-ten-thousa_734223.png" --- # One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are… ![“One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/orson-scott-card-134_bachelor_one-bachelor-is-an-irritation-ten-thousa_734223.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/orson-scott-card-134_bachelor_one-bachelor-is-an-irritation-ten-thousa_734223.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/orson-scott-card-134_bachelor_one-bachelor-is-an-irritation-ten-thousa_734223.png) > “One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war.” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective conflict escalates when many share a single grievance, turning irritation into war. **In simple terms:** Many grievances become war. Key Takeaway Address issues early before they multiply. Themes conflict collective action irritation war Mood strategic cautionary Type literary political When to use this quote - workplace disputes - political movements - neighborhood disagreements - online forums Key Concepts group dynamics escalation social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What small irritations could you resolve now? - How does leadership prevent escalation? A Different Perspective Not all irritations lead to war; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bachelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelor/) [Bachelor Irritation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelor-irritation-4430806/) [Bachelors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelors/) [Bachelors War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelors-war-4430804/) [Irritation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritation/) [Irritation Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritation-thousand-5744956/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand Bachelors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-bachelors-4430805/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“A man without a wife and babies is a menace to civilization... One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/a-man-without-a-wife-and-babies-is-a-menace-to-civilization-one/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/rich-bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Obviously there was no point in being a bachelor if his houseman was going to filch his booze. If he was going to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/obviously-there-was-no-point-in-being-a-bachelor-if-his-houseman-was/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [There’s a lot I don’t tell my father when he calls asking after Amy. He wouldn’t understand that she has no interest in getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-tell-my-father-when-he-calls-asking-after-amy/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I love to think of the whole universe together as one eternal fact. I love to think that everything is alive; that crystallization is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-love-to-think-of-the-whole-universe-together-as-one-eternal-fact-i/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Russia's Vladimir Putin appeared in public for the first time after a mysterious 10-day absence. Putin said it took him that long to recover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/russia-s-vladimir-putin-appeared-in-public-for-the-first-time-after-a/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [“They say bachelors have all the fun. Not so. You just get old and full of sand, nasty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/they-say-bachelors-have-all-the-fun-not-so-you-just-get-old-and-full/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The Shades never recorded anything, Little Daddy and the Bachelors recorded a couple of records, ya.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-chong/the-shades-never-recorded-anything-little-daddy-and-the-bachelors/) [Tommy Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-chong/) > [Give women the vote, and in five years there will be a crushing tax on bachelors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/give-women-the-vote-and-in-five-years-there-will-be-a-crushing-tax-on/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [It is impossible to believe that the same God who permitted His own son to die a bachelor regards celibacy as an actual sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/it-is-impossible-to-believe-that-the-same-god-who-permitted-his-own/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Though bachelors be the strongest stakes, married men are the best binders, in the hedge of the commonwealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/though-bachelors-be-the-strongest-stakes-married-men-are-the-best/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-no-character-in-the-comedy-of-human-life-more-difficult-to/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A married man is a man with a past, while a bachelor is a man with a future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-married-man-is-a-man-with-a-past-while-a-bachelor-is-a-man-with-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. 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The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Bachelor quotes > [Every Bachelor and Bachelorette says, 'I never would have dated a person like that or a person from this place.' But if you're on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/every-bachelor-and-bachelorette-says-i-never-would-have-dated-a/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) > [A Bachelor of Arts is one who makes love to a lot of women, and yet has the art to remain a bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/a-bachelor-of-arts-is-one-who-makes-love-to-a-lot-of-women-and-yet/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [A married man is a man with a past, while a bachelor is a man with a future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-married-man-is-a-man-with-a-past-while-a-bachelor-is-a-man-with-a/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I've been doing 'The Bachelor' long enough that I don't really care whose feathers I ruffle and how many waves I cause, because my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/i-ve-been-doing-the-bachelor-long-enough-that-i-don-t-really-care/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) > [In my family, graduating and getting your bachelor's is just the beginning. It's only expected. You're underachieving if you don't strive for more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-brogdon/in-my-family-graduating-and-getting-your-bachelor-s-is-just-the/) [Malcolm Brogdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-brogdon/) > [I will never pretend like I did not come from Bachelor Nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-brown/i-will-never-pretend-like-i-did-not-come-from-bachelor-nation/) [Hannah Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-brown/) > [When it comes to love, making long-term decisions is a risky business. Sooner or later, most of us decide to leave our carefree bachelor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fry/when-it-comes-to-love-making-long-term-decisions-is-a-risky-business/) [Hannah Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fry/) > [I don't want to hear about the endless struggles to keep sex exciting, or the work it takes to plan a date night. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-don-t-want-to-hear-about-the-endless-struggles-to-keep-sex-exciting/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I think the beauty of the concept of 'The Bachelor' is that it will never be the same thing twice. I think it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-matthews/i-think-the-beauty-of-the-concept-of-the-bachelor-is-that-it-will/) [Spencer Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-matthews/) > [Obviously there was no point in being a bachelor if his houseman was going to filch his booze. If he was going to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/obviously-there-was-no-point-in-being-a-bachelor-if-his-houseman-was/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [The press has created this bachelor persona, but it's not really me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilmer-valderrama/the-press-has-created-this-bachelor-persona-but-it-s-not-really-me/) [Wilmer Valderrama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilmer-valderrama/) > [The truth is you may be far happier as a bachelor, but you are far more at peace as a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-khan/the-truth-is-you-may-be-far-happier-as-a-bachelor-but-you-are-far/) [Sajid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-khan/) > [Shall I never see a bachelor of three score again?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/shall-i-never-see-a-bachelor-of-three-score-again/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Bachelor' viewers are clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/bachelor-viewers-are-clever/) [Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/) > [I know it sounds silly, but no one really anticipates just how mentally and emotionally taxing and unbelievably physically grueling it is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harrison/i-know-it-sounds-silly-but-no-one-really-anticipates-just-how/) [Chris Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harrison/) [Browse all 257 Bachelor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One bachelor is an irritation. 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