--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A new idea is delicate. It can be killed…" description: "\"A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/ovid-276_death_a-new-idea-is-delicate-it-can-be-killed_1889453.png" --- # A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a… ![“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/ovid-276_death_a-new-idea-is-delicate-it-can-be-killed_1889453.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/ovid-276_death_a-new-idea-is-delicate-it-can-be-killed_1889453.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/ovid-276_death_a-new-idea-is-delicate-it-can-be-killed_1889453.png) > “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.” [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas are fragile and can be destroyed by dismissive attitudes or criticism. **In simple terms:** Ideas need protection from ridicule. Key Takeaway Guard new ideas. Themes creativity vulnerability criticism Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - creative workshops - startup pitches - academic research Key Concepts psychology of innovation social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to negative feedback? - When should you defend an idea? A Different Perspective Not all criticism is harmful; constructive feedback can improve ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [New idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-idea/) ## Related quotes > [“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/a-new-idea-is-delicate-it-can-be-killed-by-a-sneer-or-a-yawn-it-can-3/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [“A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brower/a-new-idea-is-delicate-it-can-be-killed-by-a-sneer-or-a-yawn-it-can-4/) Charles Brower > [A great scientist is more open to a new idea than almost anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/a-great-scientist-is-more-open-to-a-new-idea-than-almost-anybody/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > ['The X Factor' seems to be more about building up personalities and people in tears. And it's not a new idea. The pre-Beatles pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/the-x-factor-seems-to-be-more-about-building-up-personalities-and/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [Every new idea in any field needs protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-catmull/every-new-idea-in-any-field-needs-protection/) [Edwin Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-catmull/) > [Sometimes an old idea gets relegated to the back of the line in the mad delight of a new idea, one you've never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/sometimes-an-old-idea-gets-relegated-to-the-back-of-the-line-in-the/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [It doesn't matter how new an idea is: what matters is how new it becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/it-doesn-t-matter-how-new-an-idea-is-what-matters-is-how-new-it/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [We don't need a new idea; the idea is called America, and it still works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/we-don-t-need-a-new-idea-the-idea-is-called-america-and-it-still-works/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/you-are-an-explorer-and-you-represent-our-species-and-the-greatest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If there's a new idea, a new invention, or a new gas, or a new whatever you know, It should be brought at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/if-there-s-a-new-idea-a-new-invention-or-a-new-gas-or-a-new-whatever/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [The World requires at least ten years to understand a new idea, however important or simple it may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-ross/the-world-requires-at-least-ten-years-to-understand-a-new-idea/) [Ronald Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-ross/) > [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there. A new idea is a light that illuminates presences which simply had no form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [The fact is that one new idea leads to another, that to a third and so on through a course of time, until someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-fact-is-that-one-new-idea-leads-to-another-that-to-a-third-and-so/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [At the moment, I'm toying with a new idea for a book, but fully engaged with writing screenplays, so the book idea - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/at-the-moment-i-m-toying-with-a-new-idea-for-a-book-but-fully-engaged/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [Every year, there's a new idea we can't do and a new technology for something that excites us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-howard/every-year-there-s-a-new-idea-we-can-t-do-and-a-new-technology-for/) [Todd Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-howard/) ## More by Ovid > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) [Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [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/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A new idea is delicate. 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