--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to kill an idea without being…" description: "\"If you want to kill an idea without being identified as the assassin, suggest that the legal department take a look at it.\" — Scott Adams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg" --- # If you want to kill an idea without being identified as… ![“If you want to kill an idea without being identified as the assassin, suggest that the legal department take a look at it.” quote by Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg) > “If you want to kill an idea without being identified as the assassin, suggest that the legal department take a look at it.” [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Manipulating bureaucracy can suppress ideas while keeping the suppressor anonymous. **In simple terms:** Use legal threats to silence ideas without taking credit. Key Takeaway Be wary of hidden power plays. Themes politics power communication Mood cautious skeptical Type observational critical When to use this quote - corporate meetings - policy debates - creative pitches Key Concepts bureaucracy strategic silence Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect ideas from being silenced? - When is it ethical to use bureaucracy as a weapon? A Different Perspective Legal threats can backfire and damage credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassin Suggest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassin-suggest-2586254/) [Assassins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassins/) [Funny work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-work/) [Idea Identified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-identified-2586256/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Identified Assassin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identified-assassin-2586255/) [Kill Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-idea-1098768/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Suggest Legal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggest-legal-2586257/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [There's a fine line between marketing and grand theft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/there-s-a-fine-line-between-marketing-and-grand-theft/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Nobody died. how can you kill an idea? How can you kill the personification of an action?" "Then what died? who are you mourning?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/nobody-died-how-can-you-kill-an-idea-how-can-you-kill-the-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“There isn’t a name for my situation. Firstly because I decided to kill myself. And then because of this idea: I don’t have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dbc-pierre/there-isn-t-a-name-for-my-situation-firstly-because-i-decided-to-kill/) [DBC Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dbc-pierre/) > [You cannot kill an idea by murdering innocent people — though you can nudge it toward suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-randazzo/you-cannot-kill-an-idea-by-murdering-innocent-people-though-you-can/) [Joe Randazzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-randazzo/) > [You can kill a thousand; you can bring an end to life; you cannot kill an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/you-can-kill-a-thousand-you-can-bring-an-end-to-life-you-cannot-kill/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Sometimes the best, and only effective, way to kill an idea is to put it into practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/sometimes-the-best-and-only-effective-way-to-kill-an-idea-is-to-put/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/medgar-evers/you-can-kill-a-man-but-you-can-t-kill-an-idea/) [Medgar Evers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/medgar-evers/) > [You can kill a man but you cant kill a idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/you-can-kill-a-man-but-you-cant-kill-a-idea/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Death can never kill an idea. Ideas are more powerful than death. Ideas outlive men and can never be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/death-can-never-kill-an-idea-ideas-are-more-powerful-than-death-ideas/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [“There, did you think to kill me? There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill. There's only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/there-did-you-think-to-kill-me-there-s-no-flesh-or-blood-within-this/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/if-you-want-to-kill-any-idea-in-the-world-get-a-committee-working-on/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Kill the idea of the lone, suffering artist. Don't make it any harder on yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/kill-the-idea-of-the-lone-suffering-artist-don-t-make-it-any-harder/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“If you have one of those impulses that are pulling you, if you don’t marry it with an action within 5 seconds, you pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-robbins/if-you-have-one-of-those-impulses-that-are-pulling-you-if-you-don-t/) [Mel Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-robbins/) > [“Nobody died. How can you kill an idea? How can you kill the personification of an action?"- Cain, The Sandman Vol. 10: The Wake”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/nobody-died-how-can-you-kill-an-idea-how-can-you-kill-the/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Alright look, our policy is, if for any reason you're not completely satisfied, I hate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goodmanb/alright-look-our-policy-is-if-for-any-reason-you-re-not-completely/) [Goodmanb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goodmanb/) ## More by Scott Adams > [The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-creator-of-the-universe-works-in-mysterious-ways-but-he-uses-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“If you think your odds of solving your problem are bad, don’t rule out the possibility that what is really happening is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-think-your-odds-of-solving-your-problem-are-bad-don-t-rule-out/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Frankly, I’m suspicious of anyone who has a strong opinion on a complicated issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/frankly-i-m-suspicious-of-anyone-who-has-a-strong-opinion-on-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“If you want success, figure out the price, then pay it. It sounds trivial and obvious, but if you unpack the idea it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-success-figure-out-the-price-then-pay-it-it-sounds/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Ideas are worthless, execution is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/ideas-are-worthless-execution-is-everything/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Failure always brings something valuable with it. I don’t let it leave until I extract that value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/failure-always-brings-something-valuable-with-it-i-don-t-let-it-leave/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The longer you verk here, diverse it gets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-longer-you-verk-here-diverse-it-gets/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“On all the important stuff, we are emotional creatures who make decisions first and rationalize them after the fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/on-all-the-important-stuff-we-are-emotional-creatures-who-make/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“What you rarely see is a stillborn failure that transmogrifies into a stellar success. Small successes can grow into big ones, but failures rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/what-you-rarely-see-is-a-stillborn-failure-that-transmogrifies-into-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Because everything you perceive is a metaphor for something your brain is not equipped to fully understand. God is as real as the clothes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/because-everything-you-perceive-is-a-metaphor-for-something-your/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Capitalism is rotten at every level, and yet it adds up to something extraordinarily useful for society over time. The paradox of capitalism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/capitalism-is-rotten-at-every-level-and-yet-it-adds-up-to-something/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The best part about being my age is in knowing how my life worked out. Sure, there's a lot more living to go, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-best-part-about-being-my-age-is-in-knowing-how-my-life-worked-out/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [If you see voters as rational, you'll be a terrible politician. People are not wired to be rational. Our brains simply evolved to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-see-voters-as-rational-you-ll-be-a-terrible-politician-people/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) [Explore all 418 Scott Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## More Assassins quotes > [This is really good,” Donovan Caine said, attacking his third strawberry pancake. “You sound surprised,” I said. He shrugged. “I just didn’t think an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/this-is-really-good-donovan-caine-said-attacking-his-third-strawberry/) [Jennifer Estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/) > [“Some people loathe the act of killing a person at first, but as they continue to do it, it can feel like a game.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-creeden/some-people-loathe-the-act-of-killing-a-person-at-first-but-as-they/) [Pauline Creeden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-creeden/) > [Treacherous assassins, enemies of the people, and worthy of everyone's ridicule are those who, under the pretext of guiding future generations, teach them an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/treacherous-assassins-enemies-of-the-people-and-worthy-of-everyone-s/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [“They are the Emperor's spies, his eyes and ears. And occasionally his assassins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-moeller/they-are-the-emperor-s-spies-his-eyes-and-ears-and-occasionally-his/) [Jonathan Moeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-moeller/) > [Yes Rosalie, we all know how proficient of an assassin you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/yes-rosalie-we-all-know-how-proficient-of-an-assassin-you-are/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [Nixon's own protection from the assassin's bullet... nattering nabobs of negativism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/nixon-s-own-protection-from-the-assassin-s-bullet-nattering-nabobs-of/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > ['The Assassins' Gate' is a very tightly controlled story of the ideas that led to the war and the consequences of those ideas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-assassins-gate-is-a-very-tightly-controlled-story-of-the-ideas/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Procrastination is attitude's natural assassin. There's nothing so fatiguing as an uncompleted task](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/procrastination-is-attitude-s-natural-assassin-there-s-nothing-so/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Are you suggesting I’m not normal? (Nykyrian) Oh yeah, baby, you ooze normality. From the top of that assassin’s braid to the tip of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/are-you-suggesting-i-m-not-normal-nykyrian-oh-yeah-baby-you-ooze/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Agents of disruption, subversion, sabotage and disinformation tunnelers and smugglers, listeners and forgers, trainers and recruiters and talent spotters and couriers and watchers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/agents-of-disruption-subversion-sabotage-and-disinformation-tunnelers/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Ananna of Tanarau is a delightfully irascible heroine, inhabiting a fascinating and fresh new world that I would love to spend more time in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-kiernan/ananna-of-tanarau-is-a-delightfully-irascible-heroine-inhabiting-a/) [Celine Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-kiernan/) > [If a shot aimed at aptness succeeds aptly, it is then fully apt, since it is not only apt but also aptly apt. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/if-a-shot-aimed-at-aptness-succeeds-aptly-it-is-then-fully-apt-since/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Some people perceive me as an assassin or at least someone who can slip under your guard with a knife. But if you watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/some-people-perceive-me-as-an-assassin-or-at-least-someone-who-can/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [The CW is a very fashion-oriented network and they like their stars to look a certain way. I like that, but at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-q/the-cw-is-a-very-fashion-oriented-network-and-they-like-their-stars/) [Maggie Q](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-q/) > [The terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter under threat, and we will not allow our future to be determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-terrorists-do-not-understand-america-the-american-people-do-not/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) [Browse all 234 Assassins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to kill an idea without being identified as the assassin, suggest that the legal department take a look at it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Scott Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-being-identified-as-the-assassin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assassins" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-being-identified-as-the-assassin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/scott-adams-666_assassins_if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-bein_2681789.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you want to kill an idea without being identified as the assassin, suggest that the legal department take…” — Scott Adams", "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": "Scott Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you want to kill an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-being-identified-as-the-assassin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-to-kill-an-idea-without-being-identified-as-the-assassin/#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 } } ] } ```