--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry…" description: "\"Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry and punch a cow.\" — Stephen Colbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png" --- # Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry and punch a cow. ![“Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry and punch a cow.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png) > “Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry and punch a cow.” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses frustration humorously, suggesting extreme reaction to minor mishaps. **In simple terms:** Don’t overreact to small problems. Key Takeaway Keep perspective on minor setbacks. Themes humor frustration overreaction Mood playful ironic Type satirical motivational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - office mistakes - family arguments - traffic jams Key Concepts Satire emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - When is a strong reaction justified? - How can humor defuse tension? A Different Perspective Exaggeration may downplay genuine feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/) [Angry Punch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry-punch-1149458/) [Cows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cows/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milk/) [Milk Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milk-angry-3354827/) [Punch Cow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punch-cow-3354828/) [Spilled milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spilled-milk/) ## Related quotes > [Are you angry? Punch a pillow. Was it satisfying? Not hardly. These days people are too angry for punching. What you might try is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/are-you-angry-punch-a-pillow-was-it-satisfying-not-hardly-these-days/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [There's no point crying over spilled milk. Let it be and move on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-no-point-crying-over-spilled-milk-let-it-be-and-move-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop crying over spilled milk. Im sure there's more milk to fill your glass right back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-crying-over-spilled-milk-im-sure-there-s-more-milk-to-fill-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dont cry over spilled milk you just gotta find a paper towel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-cry-over-spilled-milk-you-just-gotta-find-a-paper-towel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can't behave like crocodiles and cry over spilled milk and broken eggs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-trapattoni/we-can-t-behave-like-crocodiles-and-cry-over-spilled-milk-and-broken/) [Giovanni Trapattoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-trapattoni/) > [There's no use crying over spilled milk. Unless you got punched in your breast so hard you started lactating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-no-use-crying-over-spilled-milk-unless-you-got-punched-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I've learned not to cry over spilled milk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-learned-not-to-cry-over-spilled-milk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Inutile piangere sul latte versato. (No use crying over spilled milk.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-marciano/inutile-piangere-sul-latte-versato-no-use-crying-over-spilled-milk/) [Francesca Marciano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-marciano/) > [I don't cry over the past or worry about spilled milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-ariza/i-don-t-cry-over-the-past-or-worry-about-spilled-milk/) [Trevor Ariza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-ariza/) > [No use crying over spilled milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-marciano/no-use-crying-over-spilled-milk/) [Francesca Marciano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-marciano/) > [Don't cry over spilled milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No use crying over spilled milk. now spilled coffee is a completely different story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylee/no-use-crying-over-spilled-milk-now-spilled-coffee-is-a-completely/) [Kylee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylee/) > [“There is no use on crying over spilled milk, just pour yourself another glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-conliffe/there-is-no-use-on-crying-over-spilled-milk-just-pour-yourself/) [Michael Conliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-conliffe/) > [Don't cry over spilled milk. By this time tomorrow, it'll be free yogurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-by-this-time-tomorrow-it-ll-be-free-yogurt/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More Angry quotes > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) [Kirsten Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gilchrist/) > [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/when-you-re-frustrated-with-people-when-they-ve-made-you-angry-it/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [When I was writing 'Black Panther,' on one level, I was angry because DC would never let me write 'Batman,' so I was doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-priest/when-i-was-writing-black-panther-on-one-level-i-was-angry-because-dc/) [Christopher Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-priest/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [I'm an angry guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gandolfini/i-m-an-angry-guy/) [James Gandolfini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gandolfini/) > [Apparently, I'm the angriest man. I don't know. It's just an interpretation. If it was someone else, they might be called focused or competitive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alun-wyn-jones/apparently-i-m-the-angriest-man-i-don-t-know-it-s-just-an/) [Alun Wyn Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alun-wyn-jones/) > [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [Of course I get angry, but I want to use my brain a little bit and not just smash things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/of-course-i-get-angry-but-i-want-to-use-my-brain-a-little-bit-and-not/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [“Rather than being incensed by the nature of the bruise, maybe we should be inspired by the possibilities in the bruise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/rather-than-being-incensed-by-the-nature-of-the-bruise-maybe-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) [Browse all 3,857 Angry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry and punch a cow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Colbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-and-punch-a-cow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Angry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-and-punch-a-cow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/stephen-colbert-503_angry_don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-an_1165534.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't cry over spilled milk-- get angry and punch a cow.” — Stephen Colbert", "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": "Stephen Colbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Don't cry over spilled milk-- get...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-and-punch-a-cow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-cry-over-spilled-milk-get-angry-and-punch-a-cow/#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 } } ] } ```