--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’…" description: "\"“They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’ said Tommy Haley. ‘He might get down to thirty-seven in a pinch, but if he done below that a mouse could stop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg" --- # They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’ said Tommy Haley… ![“They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’ said Tommy Haley. ‘He might get down to thirty-seven in a pinch, but if he done below that a mouse could stop him. He’s a welter; that’s what he is and he knows it as well as I do. He’s growed like a weed in the last six mont’s. I told him, I says, “If you…” quote by Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg) > ““They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’ said Tommy Haley. ‘He might get down to thirty-seven in a pinch, but if he done below that a mouse could stop him. He’s a welter; that’s what he is and he knows it as well as I do. He’s growed like a weed in the last six mont’s. I told him, I says, “If you don’t quit growin’ they won’t be nobody for you to box, only Willard and them.” He says, “Well, I wouldn’t run away from Willard if I weighed twenty pounds more.”’ ‘He must hate himself,’ said Tommy’s brother. ‘I never seen a good one that didn’t.”” [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator describes a man’s stubbornness and self‑destruction, using colloquial humor to highlight fatalistic attitudes toward effort and self‑worth. **In simple terms:** Stubbornness leads to self‑destruction; effort matters. Key Takeaway Recognize self‑limiting beliefs. Themes self‑worth determination humor fatalism masculinity Mood cynical ironic empathetic Type narrative social commentary humorous When to use this quote - Avoiding work - accepting defeat - overcoming self‑hate - seeking purpose Key Concepts Self‑sabotage identity social pressure working class life Questions to Reflect On - What drives self‑destructive behavior? - How can one break cycles of defeat? A Different Perspective The humor may trivialize serious struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Jesus, Willard says, “does not call us to do what he did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. Then the doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/jesus-willard-says-does-not-call-us-to-do-what-he-did-but-to-be-as-he/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [I've said this before: myself and Tommy Shelby, he's the most unlike-me character I have ever played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-ve-said-this-before-myself-and-tommy-shelby-he-s-the-most-unlike-me/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [“Who’s teasing? I’m telling him the truth. He ain’t going to have it. Neither one of ‘em going to have it. And I’ll tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/who-s-teasing-i-m-telling-him-the-truth-he-ain-t-going-to-have-it/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You don't appreciate a faithful husband when you've got one,' said Tommy. 'All my friends tell me you never know with husbands,' said Tuppance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/you-don-t-appreciate-a-faithful-husband-when-you-ve-got-one-said/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Marriage is called all sorts of things, a haven, and a refuge, and a crowning glory, and a state of bondage, and lots more.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/marriage-is-called-all-sorts-of-things-a-haven-and-a-refuge-and-a/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [ “ ‘Wow, dude, come in,’ said Tommy \[Lee\], when I rang the door-bell. ‘I can’t believe it. Ozzy Osbourne’s in my house.’ ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/wow-dude-come-in-said-tommy-lee-when-i-rang-the-door-bell-i-can-t/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [“I want you to stay the fuck away from him. Am I making myself clear?” “Crystal clear,” Corey said. Tommy nodded. “Good.” He glanced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darien-cox/i-want-you-to-stay-the-fuck-away-from-him-am-i-making-myself-clear/) [Darien Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darien-cox/) > [“You need me," he said. "And I'm all yours." ~Tommy aka "Ender”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/you-need-me-he-said-and-i-m-all-yours-tommy-aka-ender/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [“A few minutes passed wherein the truck hummed, country music twanged on the radio, and I read the same paragraph in my history book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/a-few-minutes-passed-wherein-the-truck-hummed-country-music-twanged/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [“I started showing them some of Tommy’s greatest acting hits. “Oh my God,” one of them said, laughing. “This is so terrible.” Another one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/i-started-showing-them-some-of-tommy-s-greatest-acting-hits-oh-my-god/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [“He said it was as if Tommy had produced a key which fit a cage in the back of his mind, a cage like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/he-said-it-was-as-if-tommy-had-produced-a-key-which-fit-a-cage-in-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Ring Lardner > [Shut up,' he explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/shut-up-he-explained/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [Walter Mayer was a hero at a Salvation Army home fire in Cincinnati.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/walter-mayer-was-a-hero-at-a-salvation-army-home-fire-in-cincinnati/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [The only real happiness a ballplayer has is when he is playing a ball game and accomplishes something he didn't think he could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/the-only-real-happiness-a-ballplayer-has-is-when-he-is-playing-a-ball/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [“Are you lost, Daddy?" I asked tenderly. "Shut up," he explained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/are-you-lost-daddy-i-asked-tenderly-shut-up-he-explained/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [This story is slightly immoral, but so, I guess, are stories based on truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/this-story-is-slightly-immoral-but-so-i-guess-are-stories-based-on/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [I've known what it is to be hungry, but I always went right to a restaurant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/i-ve-known-what-it-is-to-be-hungry-but-i-always-went-right-to-a/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [“Although he is a very poor fielder, he is a very poor hitter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/although-he-is-a-very-poor-fielder-he-is-a-very-poor-hitter/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [They gave each other a smile with a future in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/they-gave-each-other-a-smile-with-a-future-in-it/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [No one, ever, wrote anything as well even after one drink as he would have done without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/no-one-ever-wrote-anything-as-well-even-after-one-drink-as-he-would/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. 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Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/some-like-them-hot-some-like-them-cold-some-like-them-when-they-re/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [He looked at me as if I were a side dish he hadn't ordered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/he-looked-at-me-as-if-i-were-a-side-dish-he-hadn-t-ordered/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [“Then we quit jokeing and he says You have improved a hole lot”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/then-we-quit-jokeing-and-he-says-you-have-improved-a-hole-lot/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [“Mr. Fitzgerald is a novelist and Mrs. Fitzgerald is a novelty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/mr-fitzgerald-is-a-novelist-and-mrs-fitzgerald-is-a-novelty/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) > [“He looked at me as if I was a side dish he hadn't ordered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/he-looked-at-me-as-if-i-was-a-side-dish-he-hadn-t-ordered/) [Ring Lardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) [Explore all 20 Ring Lardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/) ## More Said Tommy quotes > [I've said this before: myself and Tommy Shelby, he's the most unlike-me character I have ever played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-ve-said-this-before-myself-and-tommy-shelby-he-s-the-most-unlike-me/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [“I started showing them some of Tommy’s greatest acting hits. “Oh my God,” one of them said, laughing. “This is so terrible.” Another one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/i-started-showing-them-some-of-tommy-s-greatest-acting-hits-oh-my-god/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [“A few minutes passed wherein the truck hummed, country music twanged on the radio, and I read the same paragraph in my history book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/a-few-minutes-passed-wherein-the-truck-hummed-country-music-twanged/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [“You need me," he said. "And I'm all yours." ~Tommy aka "Ender”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/you-need-me-he-said-and-i-m-all-yours-tommy-aka-ender/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [“I want you to stay the fuck away from him. Am I making myself clear?” “Crystal clear,” Corey said. Tommy nodded. “Good.” He glanced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darien-cox/i-want-you-to-stay-the-fuck-away-from-him-am-i-making-myself-clear/) [Darien Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darien-cox/) > [ “ ‘Wow, dude, come in,’ said Tommy \[Lee\], when I rang the door-bell. ‘I can’t believe it. Ozzy Osbourne’s in my house.’ ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/wow-dude-come-in-said-tommy-lee-when-i-rang-the-door-bell-i-can-t/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [“Marriage is called all sorts of things, a haven, and a refuge, and a crowning glory, and a state of bondage, and lots more.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/marriage-is-called-all-sorts-of-things-a-haven-and-a-refuge-and-a/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“You don't appreciate a faithful husband when you've got one,' said Tommy. 'All my friends tell me you never know with husbands,' said Tuppance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/you-don-t-appreciate-a-faithful-husband-when-you-ve-got-one-said/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Who’s teasing? I’m telling him the truth. He ain’t going to have it. Neither one of ‘em going to have it. And I’ll tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/who-s-teasing-i-m-telling-him-the-truth-he-ain-t-going-to-have-it/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“He said it was as if Tommy had produced a key which fit a cage in the back of his mind, a cage like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/he-said-it-was-as-if-tommy-had-produced-a-key-which-fit-a-cage-in-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) Browse all 11 Said Tommy quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’ said Tommy Haley. ‘He might get down to thirty-seven in a pinch, but if he done below that a mouse could stop him. He’s a welter; that’s what he is and he knows it as well as I do. He’s growed like a weed in the last six mont’s. I told him, I says, “If you don’t quit growin’ they won’t be nobody for you to box, only Willard and them.” He says, “Well, I wouldn’t run away from Willard if I weighed twenty pounds more.”’ ‘He must hate himself,’ said Tommy’s brother. ‘I never seen a good one that didn’t.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ring Lardner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-said-tommy-haley-he-might-get/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Said Tommy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-said-tommy-haley-he-might-get/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/ring-lardner-27822_said-tommy_they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-sa_2281788.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any more,’ said Tommy Haley. ‘He might get down to thirty-seven in a pinch…” — Ring Lardner", "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": "Ring Lardner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ring-lardner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They’s no use kiddin’ ourself any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-said-tommy-haley-he-might-get/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ring-lardner/they-s-no-use-kiddin-ourself-any-more-said-tommy-haley-he-might-get/#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 } } ] } ```