--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't explain. When I like people…" description: "\"“I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg" --- # I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never… ![“I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it…” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg) > ““I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it. When I leave town now I never tell my people where I am going. If I did, I would lose all my pleasure. It is a silly habit, I dare say, but somehow it seems to bring a great deal of romance into one's life. I suppose you think me awfully foolish about it?”” [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. The author values secrecy in relationships, believing hidden aspects add mystery, romance, and delight to life, and that revealing everything would diminish personal pleasure. **In simple terms:** Keeping secrets makes life more mysterious and romantic. Key Takeaway Embrace selective privacy to preserve wonder. Themes privacy romance trust individuality Mood reflective nostalgic thoughtful Type philosophical personal literary When to use this quote - dating - friendship - travel - creative work - personal branding Key Concepts existentialism social critique personal freedom Questions to Reflect On - What do you keep hidden and why? - How does secrecy affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Over‑sharing can erode intimacy and trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) ## Related quotes > [“When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names-to-anyone-it-is-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names-to-anyone-it-is/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Oh I can't explain. When I like people immensely I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/oh-i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvelous to us. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-have-grown-to-love-secrecy-it-seems-to-be-the-one-thing-that-can/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-have-grown-to-love-secrecy-it-seems-to-be-the-one-thing-that-can-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“You know how I love secrecy. It is the only thing that can make modern life wonderful or mysterious to us. The commonest thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-know-how-i-love-secrecy-it-is-the-only-thing-that-can-make-modern/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names-to-anyone-it-is-3/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“You know how I love secrecy. It is the only thing that can make modern life wonderful or mysterious to us. The commonest thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-know-how-i-love-secrecy-it-is-the-only-thing-that-can-make-modern-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [My life is mysterious and I may be the only one to understand it but God made it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber/my-life-is-mysterious-and-i-may-be-the-only-one-to-understand-it-but/) [Amber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber/) > [“Bored in life? Find a mysterious road and walk on that road!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bored-in-life-find-a-mysterious-road-and-walk-on-that-road/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Life's mysterious, strange, and full of wonders - and only a fool withdraws from it willingly and lets it pass him by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-s-mysterious-strange-and-full-of-wonders-and-only-a-fool/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Tell me who you are. You need not tell me your name. Names have power, even human ones. Tell me where you live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/tell-me-who-you-are-you-need-not-tell-me-your-name-names-have-power/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Yeah, I've banged some female costars. I swore I'd never tell their names, so instead I'll present some anagrams: Sahar Clahke and Haether Gharam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/yeah-i-ve-banged-some-female-costars-i-swore-i-d-never-tell-their/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“You say you care about the poor? Tell me their names.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-nayhouy-greenfield/you-say-you-care-about-the-poor-tell-me-their-names/) Craig & Nayhouy Greenfield > [I told you I would tell you my names. This is what they call me. I'm called Glad-of-War, Grim, Raider, and Third. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-told-you-i-would-tell-you-my-names-this-is-what-they-call-me-i-m/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## 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 Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it. When I leave town now I never tell my people where I am going. If I did, I would lose all my pleasure. It is a silly habit, I dare say, but somehow it seems to bring a great deal of romance into one's life. I suppose you think me awfully foolish about it?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/oscar-wilde-16_life_i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immen_712179.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. It is like surrendering…” — 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": "“I can't explain. When I like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-immensely-i-never-tell-their-names/#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 } } ] } ```