--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never argue at the dinner table, for the…" description: "\"Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.\" — Richard Whately" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png" --- # Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not… ![“Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.” quote by Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png) > “Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.” [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoid arguing at meals because a hungry person is less likely to win a debate, and the unfed may dominate the discussion. **In simple terms:** Don't argue when hungry; the unfed often win. Key Takeaway Choose calm, wait until after eating. Themes communication family dynamics self‑control Mood reflective calm Type advice practical When to use this quote - family dinner - team meetings - negotiations - parent‑child discussions Key Concepts social psychology conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - How does hunger affect reasoning? - What strategies keep meals peaceful? A Different Perspective If emotions run high, postponing may not help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Dinner table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-table/) ## Related quotes > [Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry gets the best of the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the-one-who-is-not-hungry-gets/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [I think it is better to fight a person in a battle than to argue with him at the dinner table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-think-it-is-better-to-fight-a-person-in-a-battle-than-to-argue-with/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [The best movies have one sentence that they're exploring, a thesis, something that people can argue about over dinner afterward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt/the-best-movies-have-one-sentence-that-they-re-exploring-a-thesis/) [Helen Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt/) > [We used to speak Irish - Gaelic Irish - around the dinner table, but over the years, we lost that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-o-reilly/we-used-to-speak-irish-gaelic-irish-around-the-dinner-table-but-over/) [Genevieve O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-o-reilly/) > [I was raised before the advent of DVD players in cars and iPads at the dinner table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/i-was-raised-before-the-advent-of-dvd-players-in-cars-and-ipads-at/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [When the waitress puts the dinner on the table, the old men look at the dinner. 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Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) ## More by Richard Whately > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Of Rhetoric various definitions have been given by different writers; who, however, seem not so much to have disagreed in their conceptions of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-rhetoric-various-definitions-have-been-given-by-different-writers/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [The power of duly appreciating little things belongs to a great mind...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/the-power-of-duly-appreciating-little-things-belongs-to-a-great-mind/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Of all hostile feelings, envy is perhaps the hardest to be subdued, because hardly any one owns it even to himself, but looks out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-all-hostile-feelings-envy-is-perhaps-the-hardest-to-be-subdued/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [knowledge of our duties is the most useful part of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/knowledge-of-our-duties-is-the-most-useful-part-of-philosophy/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Geologists complain that when they want specimens of the common rocks of a country, they receive curious spars; just so, historians give us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/geologists-complain-that-when-they-want-specimens-of-the-common-rocks/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Reason can no more influence the will, and operate as a motive, than the eyes which show a man his road can enable him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/reason-can-no-more-influence-the-will-and-operate-as-a-motive-than/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Eloquence is relative. 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Some folk are meant to argue with fate. 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Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Has learned that sometimes it is just easier to agree with someone, than to argue a stupid point they think they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/has-learned-that-sometimes-it-is-just-easier-to-agree-with-someone/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [If you dont know, please ask. If you dont agree, argue. If you dont like it, please say it. But don't sit there quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-dont-know-please-ask-if-you-dont-agree-argue-if-you-dont-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [America gave the world the notion of the melting pot - an alchemical cooking device wherein diverse ethnic and religious groups voluntarily mix together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-krastev/america-gave-the-world-the-notion-of-the-melting-pot-an-alchemical/) [Ivan Krastev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-krastev/) > [Don't worry when I argue with you. Worry when I stop because it means there's nothing left to fight for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-worry-when-i-argue-with-you-worry-when-i-stop-because-it-means/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Be quick to resolve conflicts before they mature to become wars. The energetic crocodile was once a delicate egg!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/be-quick-to-resolve-conflicts-before-they-mature-to-become-wars-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I taught my executive team how to argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-mulally/i-taught-my-executive-team-how-to-argue/) [Alan Mulally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-mulally/) > [“People argue between Pele or Maradona. Di Stéfano is the best, much more complete.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pel/people-argue-between-pele-or-maradona-di-st-fano-is-the-best-much/) [Pelé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pel/) > [“The more women argue, loudly, against feminism, the more they both prove it exists and that they enjoy its hard-won privileges.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-more-women-argue-loudly-against-feminism-the-more-they-both-prove/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) Browse all 642 Argue quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Whately" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the-one-who-is-not-hungry-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Argue" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the-one-who-is-not-hungry-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/richard-whately-3892_argue_never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the_679334.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.” — Richard Whately", "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": "Richard Whately", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never argue at the dinner table,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the-one-who-is-not-hungry-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/never-argue-at-the-dinner-table-for-the-one-who-is-not-hungry-always/#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 } } ] } ```