--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh I can't explain. When I like people…" description: "\"“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 them. I have grown to love sec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/oscar-wilde-16_modern-life_oh-i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-im_1497387.jpg" --- # Oh I can't explain. When I like people immensely I never… ![“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 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/503/oscar-wilde-16_modern-life_oh-i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-im_1497387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/oscar-wilde-16_modern-life_oh-i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-im_1497387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/oscar-wilde-16_modern-life_oh-i-can-t-explain-when-i-like-people-im_1497387.jpg) > ““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 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.”” [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. Wilde suggests that keeping personal admiration secret preserves its mystery and intimacy, preventing the loss of something precious when shared openly. **In simple terms:** Keeping love secret keeps it special. Key Takeaway Guard cherished feelings to protect their depth. Themes privacy intimacy trust secrecy Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - friendships - personal boundaries - social media interactions Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - Do you hide your admiration? - How does secrecy affect intimacy? A Different Perspective Secrecy can also breed suspicion and isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Modern life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-life/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) ## Related quotes > [“I can't explain. When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one. 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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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) ## 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 Modern life quotes > [Success doesn't have a downside for me. I'm busy, but I've always been busy whatever job I've had. My very first job working in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-derbyshire/success-doesn-t-have-a-downside-for-me-i-m-busy-but-i-ve-always-been/) Victoria Derbyshire > [“Heidegger connects the linchpin of the Kantian Paradigm—A5 Active Knower, that is, the idea that the subject organizes experience—to what he considers to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/heidegger-connects-the-linchpin-of-the-kantian-paradigm-a5-active/) [Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/) > [The three horrors of modern life - talk without meaning, desire without love, work without satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-three-horrors-of-modern-life-talk-without-meaning-desire-without/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The people who are always hankering loudest for some golden yesteryear usually drive new cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-people-who-are-always-hankering-loudest-for-some-golden/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Human ingenuity has given centuries to the goal of ensuring that the human body might move around at an even 68 degrees all year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-morrow/human-ingenuity-has-given-centuries-to-the-goal-of-ensuring-that-the/) [Lance Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-morrow/) > [“The phrase “slow reading” goes back at least as far as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who in 1887 described himself as a “teacher of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-phrase-slow-reading-goes-back-at-least-as-far-as-the-philosopher/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are two things I don't care how smart you are, you will never understand. One is an alienist's testimony, and the other is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-are-two-things-i-don-t-care-how-smart-you-are-you-will-never/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“Now everything is done by machines, technology has relieved you of much work. What to do? You become aggressive, you fight, you get angry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagwan-shree-rajneesh/now-everything-is-done-by-machines-technology-has-relieved-you-of/) [Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagwan-shree-rajneesh/) > [ I think because the show \["Grant MacLaren"\] is essentially a hopeful show. The show says that as bleak as the future is, the one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/i-think-because-the-show-grant-maclaren-is-essentially-a-hopeful-show/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [Inanimate objects are sometimes parties to litigation. A ship has a legal personality, a fiction found useful for maritime purposes. The corporation sole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/inanimate-objects-are-sometimes-parties-to-litigation-a-ship-has-a/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [“We live in the most ‘connected’ time ever… yet loneliness is everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roche-uccello/we-live-in-the-most-connected-time-ever-yet-loneliness-is-everywhere/) [Roche Uccello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roche-uccello/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [The only big ideas I've ever had came from daydreaming, but modern life keeps people from daydreaming. 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