--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but…" description: "\"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.\" The adage is true as long as you don't really believe the words. But if your whole ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/richard-dawkins-115_adages_sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones-but_487930.jpg" --- # Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never… ![“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." The adage is true as long as you don't really believe the words. But if your whole upbringing, and everything you have ever been told by parents, teachers and priests, has led you to believe, really believe, utterly and…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/richard-dawkins-115_adages_sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones-but_487930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/richard-dawkins-115_adages_sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones-but_487930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/richard-dawkins-115_adages_sticks-and-stones-may-break-my-bones-but_487930.jpg) > “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." The adage is true as long as you don't really believe the words. But if your whole upbringing, and everything you have ever been told by parents, teachers and priests, has led you to believe, really believe, utterly and completely, that sinners burn in hell (or some other obnoxious article of doctrine such as that a woman is the property of her husband), it is entirely plausible that words could have a more long-lasting and damaging effect than deeds.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words can cause deep psychological harm when they shape core beliefs, especially harmful doctrines **In simple terms:** Words can hurt when they shape harmful beliefs Key Takeaway Question beliefs, question harmful teachings Themes psychology belief impact harm religion Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - childhood upbringing - religious instruction - political rhetoric - media messaging Key Concepts Cognitive conditioning social influence Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate the truth of harmful beliefs? - What strategies protect against damaging narratives? A Different Perspective Words may be less visible than physical harm but can be more enduring ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adages/) [Articles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/articles/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-words-249456/) [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Burn Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burn-hell-518652/) [Burn in hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burn-in-hell/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Hurt Adage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-adage-4181217/) [Hurt me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-me/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lasting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasting/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long lasting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-lasting/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Obnoxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obnoxious/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Plausible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plausible/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Sinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinner/) [Sinners Burn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinners-burn-4181218/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Sticks and stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks-and-stones/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Upbringing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upbringing/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Words hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-hurt/) ## Related quotes > [Now is the time, now is the hour To take back my heart, to take back my power This is the moment to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-g/now-is-the-time-now-is-the-hour-to-take-back-my-heart-to-take-back-my/) [Jeremy G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-g/) > [I spent 2 1/2 years loving the love of my life the tension between us; so thick, so intense you couldn't cut it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ctate/i-spent-2-1-2-years-loving-the-love-of-my-life-the-tension-between-us/) [CTate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ctate/) > [You won't burn in hell. But be nice anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/you-won-t-burn-in-hell-but-be-nice-anyway/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [Dear God, I understand that if I fail to believe in you, I'll burn in hell for eternity. Thanks for being such a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-dikkers/dear-god-i-understand-that-if-i-fail-to-believe-in-you-i-ll-burn-in/) [Scott Dikkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-dikkers/) > [Spirituality really lost its way when it became a stick to beat people with: ‘Do this or you’ll burn in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/spirituality-really-lost-its-way-when-it-became-a-stick-to-beat/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [Anyone who does anything for pleasure to indulge his selfish soul will surely burn in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/anyone-who-does-anything-for-pleasure-to-indulge-his-selfish-soul/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [Infidels: Repent of Mohammedanism or burn in hell forever, throughout eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-stoner/infidels-repent-of-mohammedanism-or-burn-in-hell-forever-throughout/) [J. B. Stoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-stoner/) > [Many Christians believe that the vast majority of those created by God will burn in Hell for All Eternity. Many Christians not only believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/many-christians-believe-that-the-vast-majority-of-those-created-by/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Do this or you’ll burn in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/do-this-or-you-ll-burn-in-hell/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [YES THEY DESERVE TO DIE, AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yes-they-deserve-to-die-and-i-hope-they-burn-in-hell/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fuck a hater burn in hell, sipping champagne while the waiters break the shells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/fuck-a-hater-burn-in-hell-sipping-champagne-while-the-waiters-break/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [“And as far as Piscary is concerned, he can burn in hell—if his soul hadn’t already evaporated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/and-as-far-as-piscary-is-concerned-he-can-burn-in-hell-if-his-soul/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [You live in this shadow that you're going to burn in Hell until you're saved. And I still worry about it a little. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/you-live-in-this-shadow-that-you-re-going-to-burn-in-hell-until-you/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [San Quentin, may you rot and burn in hell. May your walls fall and may I live to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/san-quentin-may-you-rot-and-burn-in-hell-may-your-walls-fall-and-may/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [I HAVE BECOME RELIGIOUS SO I CAN PRAY FOR YOU TO BURN IN HELL... :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-become-religious-so-i-can-pray-for-you-to-burn-in-hell-p/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Adages quotes > [It’s not just the adage ‘write what you know,’ it’s about gathering up all of the knowledge and experience you’ve collected up to now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/it-s-not-just-the-adage-write-what-you-know-it-s-about-gathering-up/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Wise is the tongue, wet of perfect thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-francis/wise-is-the-tongue-wet-of-perfect-thought/) [Black Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-francis/) > [Another lesson about a naive fool who came to Babylon, and found out that the pie don't taste so sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-yoakam/another-lesson-about-a-naive-fool-who-came-to-babylon-and-found-out/) [Dwight Yoakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-yoakam/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If you need somebody you can trust, trust yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/if-you-need-somebody-you-can-trust-trust-yourself/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Something happens when your subconscious goes to work... That's why 'Sleep on it' is an adage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-voight/something-happens-when-your-subconscious-goes-to-work-that-s-why/) [Jon Voight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-voight/) > [There's an adage that a lot of coaches have, that I completely disagree with, is if you make the Olympic team too early you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-coughlin/there-s-an-adage-that-a-lot-of-coaches-have-that-i-completely/) [Natalie Coughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-coughlin/) > [An ancient adage warns, "Never go to sea with two chronometers; take one or three."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-brooks/an-ancient-adage-warns-never-go-to-sea-with-two-chronometers-take-one/) [Fred Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-brooks/) > [Don't judge the picture by the frame, every man is not the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/don-t-judge-the-picture-by-the-frame-every-man-is-not-the-same/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Failure isn't failure if a lesson from it's learned. I guess love would not be love without a risk of being burned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-brooks/failure-isn-t-failure-if-a-lesson-from-it-s-learned-i-guess-love/) [Garth Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-brooks/) > [When you have everything, you have everything to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/when-you-have-everything-you-have-everything-to-lose/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) > [As the old African adage says, 'everybody skin to me ain't kin to me'. So you can't exclusively make that the criteria of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/as-the-old-african-adage-says-everybody-skin-to-me-ain-t-kin-to-me-so/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [Fool you once, you are forgiven. Fool you twice, you're just a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-chapin-carpenter/fool-you-once-you-are-forgiven-fool-you-twice-you-re-just-a-fool/) [Mary Chapin Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-chapin-carpenter/) [Browse all 340 Adages quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adages/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.\" The adage is true as long as you don't really believe the words. 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