--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pressed into service means pressed out of…" description: "\"Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.\" — Robert Frost" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png" --- # Pressed into service means pressed out of shape. ![“Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.” quote by Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png) > “Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.” [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line means that when we are forced into a role, we lose our natural shape or flexibility. **In simple terms:** Being forced into a role can distort us. Key Takeaway Preserve flexibility and authenticity. Themes identity conformity adaptability Mood thoughtful serious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - career changes - military service - family expectations Key Concepts sociology personal development role theory Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your role shapes you? - How can you retain your shape under pressure? A Different Perspective Not all pressure leads to growth; some can cause harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Means Pressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-pressed-314801/) [Pressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressed/) [Pressed Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressed-service-314800/) [Pressed Shape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressed-shape-314802/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Service Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-means-314803/) ## Related quotes > [“were pressed into service, although”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/were-pressed-into-service-although/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [Service is life. No service means, spiritually no life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/service-is-life-no-service-means-spiritually-no-life/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [SMS doesn't mean: S: Short M: Messaging S: Service It only means: S: Sweet M: Memories S: Shared with a special, loving, caring, cute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie/sms-doesn-t-mean-s-short-m-messaging-s-service-it-only-means-s-sweet/) [Sadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie/) > [“If you are able to serve a living being by your body, mind, words, and wealth who is neglected and cannot even ask for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shri-hit-premanand-govind-sharan-ji-maharaj/if-you-are-able-to-serve-a-living-being-by-your-body-mind-words-and/) [Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shri-hit-premanand-govind-sharan-ji-maharaj/) > [Serving God - what more beautiful thing is there to do! The only real joy is to be a servant of God, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshad-feild/serving-god-what-more-beautiful-thing-is-there-to-do-the-only-real/) [Reshad Feild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshad-feild/) > [I think one of the things the church service means is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-wright/i-think-one-of-the-things-the-church-service-means-is-hope/) [Jeremiah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-wright/) > [Customer service. That is what it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-jones/customer-service-that-is-what-it-means/) [Jon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-jones/) > [Rolling my trousers down to expose the upper part of my buttocks and having a knife pressed up and down my spine by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/rolling-my-trousers-down-to-expose-the-upper-part-of-my-buttocks-and/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [“pressed her lips to his again, but then he”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-manta/pressed-her-lips-to-his-again-but-then-he/) [Lena Manta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-manta/) > [Traditional publishers require an author to submit a manuscript six months in advance, and if pressed, no later than two or three.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/traditional-publishers-require-an-author-to-submit-a-manuscript-six/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [There is an extraordinary degree of amity among Washington poets. They hang together. You would be hard pressed to find that in Manhattan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/there-is-an-extraordinary-degree-of-amity-among-washington-poets-they/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-can-press-when-there-needs-to-be-pressed-i-can-hold-hands-when/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Asked at the hearing why she hadn't pressed the FBI more closely about what it knew, or didn't know, about domestic terrorist threats, Rice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fineman/asked-at-the-hearing-why-she-hadn-t-pressed-the-fbi-more-closely/) [Howard Fineman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fineman/) > [“2 Nicole gnawed on her lip as she pressed her back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-witemeyer/2-nicole-gnawed-on-her-lip-as-she-pressed-her-back/) [Karen Witemeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-witemeyer/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) ## More by Robert Frost > [The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working when you get up in the morning, and doesn't stop until you get to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-brain-is-a-wonderful-organ-it-starts-working-when-you-get-up-in/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [When I see birches bend to left and right... I like to think some boy's been swinging them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/when-i-see-birches-bend-to-left-and-right-i-like-to-think-some-boy-s/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“The promising young poets, the hopefuls? I'd name Richard Wilbur, Peter Viereck, Karl Shapiro, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Ciardi...Leonard Bacon...but it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-promising-young-poets-the-hopefuls-i-d-name-richard-wilbur-peter/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Lord, I have loved Your sky, Be it said against or for me, Have loved it clear and high, Or low and stormy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/lord-i-have-loved-your-sky-be-it-said-against-or-for-me-have-loved-it/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Let him that is without stone among you cast the first thing he can lay his hands on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/let-him-that-is-without-stone-among-you-cast-the-first-thing-he-can/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It is only a moment here and a moment there that the greatest writer has. Some cognizance of the fact must be taken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-is-only-a-moment-here-and-a-moment-there-that-the-greatest-writer/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [And of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/and-of-course-there-must-be-something-wrong-in-wanting-to-silence-any/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-are-two-kinds-of-teachers-the-kind-that-fill-you-with-so-much/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The rose is a rose, And was always a rose. But now the theory goes That the apple's a rose, And the pear is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-rose-is-a-rose-and-was-always-a-rose-but-now-the-theory-goes-that/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/forgive-o-lord-my-little-jokes-on-thee-and-i-ll-forgive-thy-great-big/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [What an exciting age it is we live in With all this talk about the hope of youth And nothing made of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/what-an-exciting-age-it-is-we-live-in-with-all-this-talk-about-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The footpath down to the well is healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-footpath-down-to-the-well-is-healed/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [There is the fear that we shan't prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-is-the-fear-that-we-shan-t-prove-worthy-in-the-eyes-of-someone/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It's God - I recognised him from Blake's picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-s-god-i-recognised-him-from-blake-s-picture/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Create and stir other people to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/create-and-stir-other-people-to-create/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) [Explore all 624 Robert Frost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More Pressed quotes > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [“2 Nicole gnawed on her lip as she pressed her back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-witemeyer/2-nicole-gnawed-on-her-lip-as-she-pressed-her-back/) [Karen Witemeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-witemeyer/) > [Asked at the hearing why she hadn't pressed the FBI more closely about what it knew, or didn't know, about domestic terrorist threats, Rice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fineman/asked-at-the-hearing-why-she-hadn-t-pressed-the-fbi-more-closely/) [Howard Fineman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fineman/) > [I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-can-press-when-there-needs-to-be-pressed-i-can-hold-hands-when/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [There is an extraordinary degree of amity among Washington poets. They hang together. You would be hard pressed to find that in Manhattan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-kumin/there-is-an-extraordinary-degree-of-amity-among-washington-poets-they/) [Maxine Kumin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-kumin/) > [Traditional publishers require an author to submit a manuscript six months in advance, and if pressed, no later than two or three.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/traditional-publishers-require-an-author-to-submit-a-manuscript-six/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [“pressed her lips to his again, but then he”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-manta/pressed-her-lips-to-his-again-but-then-he/) [Lena Manta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-manta/) > [Rolling my trousers down to expose the upper part of my buttocks and having a knife pressed up and down my spine by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/rolling-my-trousers-down-to-expose-the-upper-part-of-my-buttocks-and/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [I was on tour with Little Dragon with the Gorillaz. She's got an amazing voice and is a lovely girl. Her vibe is fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neneh-cherry/i-was-on-tour-with-little-dragon-with-the-gorillaz-she-s-got-an/) [Neneh Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neneh-cherry/) > [If you cant accept me for who I am. Oh well. Never pressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-cant-accept-me-for-who-i-am-oh-well-never-pressed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What she wanted was right there, between them, pressed against her stomach—so big and accessible and user-friendly—neatly covered and ready to go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/what-she-wanted-was-right-there-between-them-pressed-against-her/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [Nothing impresses the ladies like a clean, pressed pair of khakis and a large pattern shirt featuring either classic cars, mojitos or men playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-heidecker/nothing-impresses-the-ladies-like-a-clean-pressed-pair-of-khakis-and/) [Tim Heidecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-heidecker/) > [I'll take a carb any day of the week, but if I'm being pressed, then I'm sort of into the standard bagel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-levy/i-ll-take-a-carb-any-day-of-the-week-but-if-i-m-being-pressed-then-i/) [Dan Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-levy/) > [Keeping your clothes well pressed will keep you from looking hard pressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-cox/keeping-your-clothes-well-pressed-will-keep-you-from-looking-hard/) [Coleman Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-cox/) > [It matters whether women sit at the table. No one speaks up for you when you are standing outside with your nose pressed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/it-matters-whether-women-sit-at-the-table-no-one-speaks-up-for-you/) [Gayle Tzemach Lemmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-tzemach-lemmon/) [Browse all 42 Pressed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Frost" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-of-shape/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pressed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-of-shape/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/robert-frost-371_pressed_pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-o_1624286.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pressed into service means pressed out of shape.” — Robert Frost", "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": "Robert Frost", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Pressed into service means pressed out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-of-shape/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/pressed-into-service-means-pressed-out-of-shape/#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 } } ] } ```