--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you…" description: "\"Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to cocktail parties.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg" --- # Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to… ![“Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to cocktail parties.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg) > “Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to cocktail parties.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding negativity may isolate you socially, limiting participation. **In simple terms:** Staying silent can lead to exclusion. Key Takeaway Balance honesty with social engagement. Themes social norms honesty isolation Mood wry ironic Type literary humorous When to use this quote - work meetings - social events - online forums Key Concepts ethics communication group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When is speaking out essential? - How do you handle negative topics? A Different Perspective Silence can also protect from conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cocktail parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktail-parties/) [Cocktails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktails/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-speak-1363306/) [Hear Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-evil-1183692/) [Invited Cocktail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invited-cocktail-4002030/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-evil-472964/) [Speak no evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-no-evil/) ## Related quotes > [Hear no evil, speak no evil - and you'll never be invited to a party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-ll-never-be-invited-to-a-party/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil but then also do no evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-see-no-evil-but-then-also-do-no-evil/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hear-no-evil-see-no-evil-speak-no-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hear no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil. Read the newspapers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-see-no-evil-read-the-newspapers/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Rohypnol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carr/see-no-evil-hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-rohypnol/) [Jimmy Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carr/) > [Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel!" said Aragorn sternly. "You know not what you say. There is in her and in this land,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/speak-no-evil-of-the-lady-galadriel-said-aragorn-sternly-you-know-not/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [As for monkeys, I would have five, and they would be named: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, Do Pretty Much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/as-for-monkeys-i-would-have-five-and-they-would-be-named-see-no-evil/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) > [Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baha-u-llah/speak-no-evil-that-thou-mayest-not-hear-it-spoken-unto-thee-and/) [Bahá'u'lláh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baha-u-llah/) > [Do not wish evil for others. Do not speak ill of others. Do not obstruct anyones activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/do-not-wish-evil-for-others-do-not-speak-ill-of-others-do-not/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [“Have you never thought how danger must surround power as shadow does light? This sorcery is not a game we play for pleasure or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/have-you-never-thought-how-danger-must-surround-power-as-shadow-does/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [They say to live is evil, but to waste gods creation and not live the liffe god has givin you would show evil. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-to-live-is-evil-but-to-waste-gods-creation-and-not-live-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“34 a“Brood1 of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? bFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hayford/34-a-brood1-of-vipers-how-can-you-being-evil-speak-good-things-bfor/) [Jack Hayford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hayford/) > [There they are. See no evil, hear no evil, and...evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dole/there-they-are-see-no-evil-hear-no-evil-and-evil/) [Bob Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dole/) > [Hear no evil, see no evi. Helen Keller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/hear-no-evil-see-no-evi-helen-keller/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [Hear no evil see no evil, Helen Keller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/hear-no-evil-see-no-evil-helen-keller/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [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/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [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/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Cocktail parties quotes > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Im not funny. Im actually quite a boring person to meet one-on-one. That seems to shock quite a few people who I run into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/im-not-funny-im-actually-quite-a-boring-person-to-meet-one-on-one/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [As a child, I always enjoyed - my parents used to have these little cocktail parties - and I always loved trying to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ross-sorkin/as-a-child-i-always-enjoyed-my-parents-used-to-have-these-little/) [Andrew Ross Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ross-sorkin/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Finally ... You have accomplished your mission in going there tonight - you were 'seen,' and you furnished your host and hostess with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-baldrige/finally-you-have-accomplished-your-mission-in-going-there-tonight-you/) [Letitia Baldrige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-baldrige/) > [I misremember who first was cruel enough to nurture the cocktail party into life. But perhaps it would be not too much to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-misremember-who-first-was-cruel-enough-to-nurture-the-cocktail/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I don’t want to do a cocktail party. I’d rather people left my shows and vomited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mcqueen/i-don-t-want-to-do-a-cocktail-party-i-d-rather-people-left-my-shows/) [Alexander McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mcqueen/) > [“he writer has a grudge against society, which he documents with accounts of unsatisfying sex, unrealized ambition, unmitigated lo neliness, and a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/he-writer-has-a-grudge-against-society-which-he-documents-with/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [I don't run with anybody's herd. I don't like crowds. I don't like going to fancy places. I don't like the whole nightclub scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/i-don-t-run-with-anybody-s-herd-i-don-t-like-crowds-i-don-t-like/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Without peanuts, it isn't a cocktail party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/without-peanuts-it-isn-t-a-cocktail-party/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [“And I. I too. Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-i-i-too-quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The fact is, the cocktail party has much in its favor. Going to one is a good way of indicating that you're still alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/the-fact-is-the-cocktail-party-has-much-in-its-favor-going-to-one-is/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [I go to these cocktail parties now, and I say I make video games, and people go, 'Wow.' I can attract crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-kotick/i-go-to-these-cocktail-parties-now-and-i-say-i-make-video-games-and/) [Bobby Kotick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-kotick/) > [Twitter is the perpetual cocktail party where everyone is talking at once but nobody is saying anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-medeiros/twitter-is-the-perpetual-cocktail-party-where-everyone-is-talking-at/) [Teresa Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-medeiros/) [Browse all 83 Cocktail parties quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocktail-parties/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to cocktail parties.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t-be-invited-to-cocktail/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cocktail parties" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t-be-invited-to-cocktail/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/oscar-wilde-16_cocktail-parties_hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t_2882328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hear no evil, speak no evil, and you won't be invited to cocktail parties.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hear no evil, speak no evil,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t-be-invited-to-cocktail/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-and-you-won-t-be-invited-to-cocktail/#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 } } ] } ```