--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He's a cocky SOB. He knew the Nick Adams…" description: "\"“He's a cocky SOB. He knew the Nick Adams Stories. Probably a frustrated English major who graduated from college qualified to drive a cab.”\" — Peter H..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/peter-heller-3324_cocky_he-s-a-cocky-sob-he-knew-the-nick-adams_2490043.png" --- # He's a cocky SOB. He knew the Nick Adams Stories. Probably… ![“He's a cocky SOB. He knew the Nick Adams Stories. Probably a frustrated English major who graduated from college qualified to drive a cab.” quote by Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/peter-heller-3324_cocky_he-s-a-cocky-sob-he-knew-the-nick-adams_2490043.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/peter-heller-3324_cocky_he-s-a-cocky-sob-he-knew-the-nick-adams_2490043.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/peter-heller-3324_cocky_he-s-a-cocky-sob-he-knew-the-nick-adams_2490043.png) > ““He's a cocky SOB. He knew the Nick Adams Stories. Probably a frustrated English major who graduated from college qualified to drive a cab.”” [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The character’s arrogance and obscure knowledge reveal insecurity and frustration. **In simple terms:** Arrogance hides insecurity. Key Takeaway Seek humility and authentic growth. Themes arrogance insecurity education Mood critical ironic Type literary observational When to use this quote - academic settings - career interviews - social media Key Concepts character analysis social critique identity Questions to Reflect On - How does knowledge affect humility? - What steps foster genuine confidence? A Different Perspective Arrogance may alienate allies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adams Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adams-stories-955310/) [Cocky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocky/) [Cocky Sob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocky-sob-955308/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [English major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-major/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Knew Nick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-nick-955311/) [Nick Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nick-adams-955309/) ## Related quotes > [But I knew Nick. He was too ugly to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/but-i-knew-nick-he-was-too-ugly-to-die/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“And I knew Nick’s love for Auntie Reba. He loved her in a way that was indescribable. It wasn’t like she walked on water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/and-i-knew-nick-s-love-for-auntie-reba-he-loved-her-in-a-way-that-was/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [I do tend to be an analyzer. I'm an old English major from way back, so I do have fun tearing apart texts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-do-tend-to-be-an-analyzer-i-m-an-old-english-major-from-way-back-so/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [My roommate in college in Austin, Texas, was Wes Anderson. Wes always wanted to be a director. I was an English major in college,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wilson/my-roommate-in-college-in-austin-texas-was-wes-anderson-wes-always/) [Owen Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wilson/) > [There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/there-s-no-doubt-that-scientific-training-helps-many-authors-to-write/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“Sylvia Plath" A miniature mad talent? Sylvia Plath, who'll wipe off the spit of your integrity, rising in the saddle to slash at Auschwitz,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/sylvia-plath-a-miniature-mad-talent-sylvia-plath-who-ll-wipe-off-the/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [More than anything, being an English major made me more appreciative of authors and what an incredible feat it is to just finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/more-than-anything-being-an-english-major-made-me-more-appreciative/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [During his weekly address to the nation, President Obama discussed higher education and said, 'The most important skill you can sell is your knowledge.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/during-his-weekly-address-to-the-nation-president-obama-discussed/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-number-one-secret-of-being-a-successful-writer-is-this-marry-an/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [“I swear on Peter Stuyvesant’s peg leg that the country that became the U.S. bears a closer family resemblance to the devil-may-care merchants of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-swear-on-peter-stuyvesant-s-peg-leg-that-the-country-that-became/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The feeling persists that no one can simultaneously be a respectable writer and understand how a refrigerator works, just as no gentleman wears a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-feeling-persists-that-no-one-can-simultaneously-be-a-respectable/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The English major reads because, as rich as the one life he has may be, one life is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edmundson/the-english-major-reads-because-as-rich-as-the-one-life-he-has-may-be/) [Mark Edmundson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edmundson/) > [“I suppose I could have been nicer when I was at Columbia. I could have been polite, respectful, turned in my papers on time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-suppose-i-could-have-been-nicer-when-i-was-at-columbia-i-could-have/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“It's my job as best friend to make sure he's not a serial killer. Or an English major, not sure which one's worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/it-s-my-job-as-best-friend-to-make-sure-he-s-not-a-serial-killer-or/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [I ended up doing four or five plays in college and being an English major with my thesis in language acquisition, which I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/i-ended-up-doing-four-or-five-plays-in-college-and-being-an-english/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) ## More by Peter Heller > [“It occurred to me that the death of his grazing land hurt him more, incomparably more than the death of the human race. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-death-of-his-grazing-land-hurt-him-more/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Kook means the clueless beginner who paddles his surf board out to the other surfers in the lineup and starts chattering away like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/kook-means-the-clueless-beginner-who-paddles-his-surf-board-out-to/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“We have traveled. Now you will be the path I will walk I will walk Over you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-have-traveled-now-you-will-be-the-path-i-will-walk-i-will-walk/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“Well, I think that’s sort of like Eve biting the apple. You were talking about Genesis. I think it’s like that, the crow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/well-i-think-that-s-sort-of-like-eve-biting-the-apple-you-were/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [I like the drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose approach - you're getting way more than you can handle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-like-the-drinking-out-of-the-fire-hose-approach-you-re-getting-way/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“Because that's what it turned into: in front of a fine painting a viewer stopped looking and started watching, watching is more specific, watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/because-that-s-what-it-turned-into-in-front-of-a-fine-painting-a/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“The pleasure almost split me like a baking stuffed tomato. Like my heart swelled and my skin got thinner and thinner in the heat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/the-pleasure-almost-split-me-like-a-baking-stuffed-tomato-like-my/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“She collapsed. I stepped forward and caught her. I thought of two trees nearly unrooted and leaning against each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/she-collapsed-i-stepped-forward-and-caught-her-i-thought-of-two-trees/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [All my journalism, all my books are first person, and it's all memoir. Even when I'm writing about the oil spill in the Gulf,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/all-my-journalism-all-my-books-are-first-person-and-it-s-all-memoir/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“we can proceed in our lives just as easily from love to love as from loss to loss. A good thing to remember in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/we-can-proceed-in-our-lives-just-as-easily-from-love-to-love-as-from/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“It's early spring, some late or early hour with Orion toppling backward onto the serrated edge of the mountains and not crying out but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-s-early-spring-some-late-or-early-hour-with-orion-toppling/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“I once had a book on the stars but now I don't. My memory serves but not stellar, ha. So I made up constellations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-once-had-a-book-on-the-stars-but-now-i-don-t-my-memory-serves-but/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [Species are going extinct because of habitat loss and warming. I feel deeply responsible and think about it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/species-are-going-extinct-because-of-habitat-loss-and-warming-i-feel/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“I think there should be tribunals for social cruelty as there are for physical assault. Calculated cuts in the first degree. Snobicide or its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-think-there-should-be-tribunals-for-social-cruelty-as-there-are-for/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) [Explore all 130 Peter Heller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) ## More Cocky quotes > [“I like seeing sexy chicks whoop the cocky off guys like Turner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-like-seeing-sexy-chicks-whoop-the-cocky-off-guys-like-turner/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [Before, when I was 19-0, I was undefeated and I was 23, 24 years old. Yeah, I was cocky, I had a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-sanchez/before-when-i-was-19-0-i-was-undefeated-and-i-was-23-24-years-old/) [Diego Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-sanchez/) > [She say I'm cocky, I say that's not me. She call me papi and I say ven aqui.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meek-mill/she-say-i-m-cocky-i-say-that-s-not-me-she-call-me-papi-and-i-say-ven/) [Meek Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meek-mill/) > [I don't know how to fix a car. If the car breaks down, and the gas tank does not say "E", I'm screwed. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-know-how-to-fix-a-car-if-the-car-breaks-down-and-the-gas-tank/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Haters call me 'gay,' but their girlfriends want me more than them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/haters-call-me-gay-but-their-girlfriends-want-me-more-than-them/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [I hope I don't come off as being cocky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-zahara-benet/i-hope-i-don-t-come-off-as-being-cocky/) [BeBe Zahara Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-zahara-benet/) > [If yuu lyk wat yuu see thn y don yuu tke a picture,,, it'll last longr???](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-evans/if-yuu-lyk-wat-yuu-see-thn-y-don-yuu-tke-a-picture-it-ll-last-longr/) [Carolyn Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-evans/) > [And then the industry itself was so cocky about what they were doing that they weren't seeing what was coming on the horizon with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/and-then-the-industry-itself-was-so-cocky-about-what-they-were-doing/) [David Maraniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maraniss/) > [I'm COCKY and I know it.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-lopez/i-m-cocky-and-i-know-it/) [Michelle Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-lopez/) > [“As cocky as this sounds, I knew I could walk onto that campus and get a date with the nearest available girl. Probably even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/as-cocky-as-this-sounds-i-knew-i-could-walk-onto-that-campus-and-get/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [I'd rather be cocky than insecure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-cocky-than-insecure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The thing about people from Chicago and the Northwest suburbs is that they're very cocky. I think that serves us well in the show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-chandrasekhar/the-thing-about-people-from-chicago-and-the-northwest-suburbs-is-that/) [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-chandrasekhar/) > [Me: Breathe if you find me attractive Entire human race: \*dies from lack of oxygen\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-thomason/me-breathe-if-you-find-me-attractive-entire-human-race-dies-from-lack/) [Jazmin Thomason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-thomason/) > [I don't mean to be cocky, but if I'm never on TV again, if I never make another dollar, I am proud. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-t/i-don-t-mean-to-be-cocky-but-if-i-m-never-on-tv-again-if-i-never-make/) [Mr. T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-t/) [Browse all 536 Cocky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocky/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He's a cocky SOB. He knew the Nick Adams Stories. 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