---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel…"
description: "\"“A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel on my tongue, slick and sickening.”\" — Ruth Ware"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg"
---

#  A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel on my tongue…

![“A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel on my tongue, slick and sickening.” quote by Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg)

> ““A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel on my tongue, slick and sickening.””

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A lie feels repulsive and contaminating when spoken, highlighting the moral revulsion of deceit.

**In simple terms:** Lying feels sickening.

Key Takeaway

Avoid deceit; value honesty.

Themes

morality deception psychology

Mood

guilty reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- legal testimony
- political speech
- media reporting

Key Concepts

Ethics cognitive dissonance

Questions to Reflect On

- What consequences have you faced when lying?
- How does truth affect trust?

A Different Perspective

Lies may be rationalized or hidden, making truth harder to discern.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Sickening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickening/)

## Related quotes

> [“In dreams lie forgotten lifetimes of joy and torment, leaving only the shadow of memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-calhoun/in-dreams-lie-forgotten-lifetimes-of-joy-and-torment-leaving-only-the/)

[Kenneth Calhoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-calhoun/)

> [We may have forgotten how to feel. Nobody is teaching us how to live happily ever after, as we've heard in fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yakov-smirnoff/we-may-have-forgotten-how-to-feel-nobody-is-teaching-us-how-to-live/)

[Yakov Smirnoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yakov-smirnoff/)

> [When I first started to write poetry, I used to feel as if my tongue would go numb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/when-i-first-started-to-write-poetry-i-used-to-feel-as-if-my-tongue/)

[Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/)

> [“As though you read my mind, you steady my head between your hands and eye me intensely. Then your mouth is on mine, hungry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-brandon/as-though-you-read-my-mind-you-steady-my-head-between-your-hands-and/)

[Felicity Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-brandon/)

> [“Stop." He shuddered, his eyes dark. "I can still feel you on my tongue. It's taking everything in me not to slide to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/stop-he-shuddered-his-eyes-dark-i-can-still-feel-you-on-my-tongue-it/)

[Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/)

> [“feel on my tongue what I admire.” Despite”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-wagner-martin/feel-on-my-tongue-what-i-admire-despite/)

[Linda Wagner-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-wagner-martin/)

> [It's slanderous to report things I didn't say, to degrade my reputation, it's sickening to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-tannehill/it-s-slanderous-to-report-things-i-didn-t-say-to-degrade-my/)

[Ryan Tannehill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-tannehill/)

> [One moment you appear to be riding the crest of a wave, only to have the rug pulled away from you, bringing you back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrow/one-moment-you-appear-to-be-riding-the-crest-of-a-wave-only-to-have/)

[John Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrow/)

> [Its amazing how humanity can be both sickening and beautiful all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-amazing-how-humanity-can-be-both-sickening-and-beautiful-all-at/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Have you ever sent a loved son on vacation, and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water-logged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamie-till/have-you-ever-sent-a-loved-son-on-vacation-and-had-him-returned-to/)

[Mamie Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamie-till/)

> [“She was like a bride-to-be who begins to feel her sickening qualms as the day approaches, and dares not speak her mind because so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/she-was-like-a-bride-to-be-who-begins-to-feel-her-sickening-qualms-as/)

[Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/)

> [“Politicians are in the process of committing species extinction in honor of their corporate sponsors and the general public are along for the sickening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/politicians-are-in-the-process-of-committing-species-extinction-in/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [“The smells arose from everything, everywhere, flowing together and remaining as a sickening, tantalizing discomfort. They flowed from the delicatessen shop with its uncovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-r-braithwaite/the-smells-arose-from-everything-everywhere-flowing-together-and/)

[E.R. Braithwaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-r-braithwaite/)

> [The murders in Paris are sickening, we stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/the-murders-in-paris-are-sickening-we-stand-with-the-french-people-in/)

[David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/)

> [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/)

[Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/)

## More by Ruth Ware

> [I'm not 100% sure 'Rebecca' qualifies as a thriller, given it's three parts screwed-up love story and two parts ghost-story-without-a-ghost, but the mystery at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/i-m-not-100-sure-rebecca-qualifies-as-a-thriller-given-it-s-three/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“Airports say work and security checks and delays. Ports say... I don’t know. Something completely different. Escape, maybe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/airports-say-work-and-security-checks-and-delays-ports-say-i-don-t/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [As a reader, I read quite widely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/as-a-reader-i-read-quite-widely/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“I dwelled heavily on the image of me chipping away at the lock with a nail file and didn’t tell her about the gloves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/i-dwelled-heavily-on-the-image-of-me-chipping-away-at-the-lock-with-a/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [We are all at the center of our own narrative, but it's a narrative that changes every time we retell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/we-are-all-at-the-center-of-our-own-narrative-but-it-s-a-narrative/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“That’s the trouble with having a “click” as Mary Wren might call it. When you define yourself by walls, who’s in, who’s out. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/that-s-the-trouble-with-having-a-click-as-mary-wren-might-call-it/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“There is no gray when you’re young. There’s only goodies and baddies, right and wrong. The rules are very clear—a playground morality of ethical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/there-is-no-gray-when-you-re-young-there-s-only-goodies-and-baddies/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“I am running. I am running through moonlit woods, with branches ripping at my clothes and my feet catching in the snow-bowed bracken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/i-am-running-i-am-running-through-moonlit-woods-with-branches-ripping/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“It’s not that Nina doesn’t feel stuff. She just deals with it differently than most people. Sarcasm is her defense against life. “Let’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/it-s-not-that-nina-doesn-t-feel-stuff-she-just-deals-with-it/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [Seeing my book on a billboard in New York was a bucket-list-type thing, but also a deeply surreal moment. I had to keep reminding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/seeing-my-book-on-a-billboard-in-new-york-was-a-bucket-list-type/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [I write as if I'm someone reading the book - often people ask if I write one strand first and then go back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/i-write-as-if-i-m-someone-reading-the-book-often-people-ask-if-i/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [One of my desert island books, 'The Leopard' is not so much a novel as a eulogy for a way of life and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/one-of-my-desert-island-books-the-leopard-is-not-so-much-a-novel-as-a/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [If I'm writing a furiously angry scene, I have to consciously snap out of it when I shut down the computer, or I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/if-i-m-writing-a-furiously-angry-scene-i-have-to-consciously-snap-out/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“But I did feel violated. My little flat felt ruined–soiled and unsafe. Even describing it to the police had felt like an ordeal…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/but-i-did-feel-violated-my-little-flat-felt-ruined-soiled-and-unsafe/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

> [“there was genuine pity in her face, but also a kind of glee, the sort you see sometimes when teens are interviewed about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/there-was-genuine-pity-in-her-face-but-also-a-kind-of-glee-the-sort/)

[Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

[Explore all 32 Ruth Ware quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/)

## More Sickening quotes

> [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/)

[Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/)

> [The murders in Paris are sickening, we stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/the-murders-in-paris-are-sickening-we-stand-with-the-french-people-in/)

[David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/)

> [“The smells arose from everything, everywhere, flowing together and remaining as a sickening, tantalizing discomfort. They flowed from the delicatessen shop with its uncovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-r-braithwaite/the-smells-arose-from-everything-everywhere-flowing-together-and/)

[E.R. Braithwaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-r-braithwaite/)

> [“Politicians are in the process of committing species extinction in honor of their corporate sponsors and the general public are along for the sickening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/politicians-are-in-the-process-of-committing-species-extinction-in/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [“She was like a bride-to-be who begins to feel her sickening qualms as the day approaches, and dares not speak her mind because so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/she-was-like-a-bride-to-be-who-begins-to-feel-her-sickening-qualms-as/)

[Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/)

> [Have you ever sent a loved son on vacation, and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water-logged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamie-till/have-you-ever-sent-a-loved-son-on-vacation-and-had-him-returned-to/)

[Mamie Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamie-till/)

> [Its amazing how humanity can be both sickening and beautiful all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-amazing-how-humanity-can-be-both-sickening-and-beautiful-all-at/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [One moment you appear to be riding the crest of a wave, only to have the rug pulled away from you, bringing you back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrow/one-moment-you-appear-to-be-riding-the-crest-of-a-wave-only-to-have/)

[John Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrow/)

> [It's slanderous to report things I didn't say, to degrade my reputation, it's sickening to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-tannehill/it-s-slanderous-to-report-things-i-didn-t-say-to-degrade-my/)

[Ryan Tannehill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-tannehill/)

> [“There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who’ll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance. Don’t fool yourselves—it’s all adding up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/there-s-nothing-more-sickening-to-me-than-a-low-grade-white-man-who/)

[Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/)

> [The whole glorification of opulence and gluttony... it's just sickening to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/the-whole-glorification-of-opulence-and-gluttony-it-s-just-sickening/)

[Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/)

> [“Killing animals to make a fashion statement = a sickening + cold-blooded vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott-2/killing-animals-to-make-a-fashion-statement-a-sickening-cold-blooded/)

[Jess C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott-2/)

> [The very idea that human beings are held in bondage is sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/the-very-idea-that-human-beings-are-held-in-bondage-is-sickening/)

[Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/)

> [There is a fine line between smelling good and smothering people with your scent to the point where it's actually sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-fine-line-between-smelling-good-and-smothering-people-with/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Pseudoscience is like a virus. At low levels, it's no big deal, but when it reaches a certain threshold it becomes sickening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/pseudoscience-is-like-a-virus-at-low-levels-it-s-no-big-deal-but-when/)

[Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/)

[Browse all 39 Sickening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickening/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel on my tongue, slick and sickening.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ruth Ware"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel-on-my-tongue-slick-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Sickening"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel-on-my-tongue-slick-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/ruth-ware-19683_quote_a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel_2122879.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A lie. I'd almost forgotten how they feel on my tongue, slick and sickening.” — Ruth Ware",
                "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": "Ruth Ware",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A lie. I'd almost forgotten how...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel-on-my-tongue-slick-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/a-lie-i-d-almost-forgotten-how-they-feel-on-my-tongue-slick-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
