--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We keep our insignificant blemishes so…" description: "\"“We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame them for our larger defects.”\" — Stephen Fry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png" --- # We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame… ![“We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame them for our larger defects.” quote by Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png) > ““We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame them for our larger defects.”” [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Minor flaws are often used to excuse larger shortcomings, deflecting responsibility. **In simple terms:** We blame small faults for big problems. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not just symptoms. Themes responsibility self‑awareness integrity Mood introspective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - conflict resolution - team dynamics Key Concepts ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - What larger defects are you avoiding? - How can you confront core problems directly? A Different Perspective It can be tempting to rationalize deeper issues with trivial ones. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blame Larger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame-larger-3154917/) [Blemishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blemishes/) [Blemishes Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blemishes-blame-3154914/) [Insignificant Blemishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificant-blemishes-3154915/) [Larger Defects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/larger-defects-3154916/) ## Related quotes > [It is impossible for authors to discover beauties in one another's works; they have eyes only for spots and blemishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/it-is-impossible-for-authors-to-discover-beauties-in-one-another-s/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I definitely have a tendency to only see the blemishes of things, and see lots of things about my acting that I don't like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-giamatti/i-definitely-have-a-tendency-to-only-see-the-blemishes-of-things-and-2/) [Paul Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-giamatti/) > [Count Your Blessings, Not The Blemishes On Your Face...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/count-your-blessings-not-the-blemishes-on-your-face/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [“Not blemishes. Adornments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/not-blemishes-adornments/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [As in the case of painters, who have undertaken to give us a beautiful and graceful figure, which may have some slight blemishes, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/as-in-the-case-of-painters-who-have-undertaken-to-give-us-a-beautiful/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [“I wanted to leave marks or what?prints or blemishes? so when they track you, they'd know, i'd been there inside you, like an odour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehddah/i-wanted-to-leave-marks-or-what-prints-or-blemishes-so-when-they/) [ehddah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehddah/) > [“We are nothing without them, our scars and our blemishes. Take away our delusional smiles if you must, snatch away our illusory happiness if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shruti-upadhaya/we-are-nothing-without-them-our-scars-and-our-blemishes-take-away-our/) [Shruti Upadhaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shruti-upadhaya/) > [I definitely have a tendency to only see the blemishes of things, and see lots of things about my acting that I don't like.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-giamatti/i-definitely-have-a-tendency-to-only-see-the-blemishes-of-things-and/) [Paul Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-giamatti/) > [Blemishes are hid by night and every fault forgiven; darkness makes any woman fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/blemishes-are-hid-by-night-and-every-fault-forgiven-darkness-makes/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Denouncer and Hypocrites — Blemishes of Humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/denouncer-and-hypocrites-blemishes-of-humanity/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [When I did my self-portrait, I left all the pimples out because you always should. Pimples are a temporary condition and they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/when-i-did-my-self-portrait-i-left-all-the-pimples-out-because-you/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) ## More by Stephen Fry > [“...Catholic versus Protestant, essentially. It's that kind of fight. ... And it goes on to this day. Will we never learn? Who knows? Religion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/catholic-versus-protestant-essentially-it-s-that-kind-of-fight-and-it/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/how-dare-you-how-dare-you-create-a-world-in-which-there-is-such/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“Look at the kind of people who most object to the childishness and cheapness of celebrity culture. Does one really want to side with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/look-at-the-kind-of-people-who-most-object-to-the-childishness-and/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The object of love should feel honoured or flattered, responsible in some way. Instead he felt insulted, degraded and revolted. More than that, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-object-of-love-should-feel-honoured-or-flattered-responsible-in/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [The only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics and the morbidly obese. That, in erotic terms, is the Catholic church, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-only-people-who-are-obsessed-with-food-are-anorexics-and-the/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [To me, reason is as spiritual as anything else, the beauty of reason seems to me indelible and ineffable and numinous... the spirit is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/to-me-reason-is-as-spiritual-as-anything-else-the-beauty-of-reason/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [The stranger might laugh and seem to enjoy the writing, but you hug to yourself the thought that they didn't quite understand its force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-stranger-might-laugh-and-seem-to-enjoy-the-writing-but-you-hug-to/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The future is a much bigger deal than the past,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-future-is-a-much-bigger-deal-than-the-past/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-gather-a-repulsive-nobody-writing-in-a-paper-no-one-of-any-decency/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I've never had any illusions about being a lead actor in films, because lead actors have to be of a certain kind. Apart from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-ve-never-had-any-illusions-about-being-a-lead-actor-in-films/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Because, let's face it, I do not get offered the parts that Brad Pitt has just turned down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/because-let-s-face-it-i-do-not-get-offered-the-parts-that-brad-pitt/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-will-defend-the-absolute-value-of-mozart-over-miley-cyrus-of-course/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [You can't just say there is a god because the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/you-can-t-just-say-there-is-a-god-because-the-world-is-beautiful-you/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [If you know someone who's depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn't a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/if-you-know-someone-who-s-depressed-please-resolve-never-to-ask-them/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [It's as if scientists exert every effort of will they possess deliberately to find the least significant problems in the world and explain them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/it-s-as-if-scientists-exert-every-effort-of-will-they-possess/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) [Explore all 466 Stephen Fry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) ## More Blemishes quotes > [It is impossible for authors to discover beauties in one another's works; they have eyes only for spots and blemishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/it-is-impossible-for-authors-to-discover-beauties-in-one-another-s/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Denouncer and Hypocrites — Blemishes of Humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sino-melo/denouncer-and-hypocrites-blemishes-of-humanity/) [Sino Melo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sino-melo/) > [Blemishes are hid by night and every fault forgiven; darkness makes any woman fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/blemishes-are-hid-by-night-and-every-fault-forgiven-darkness-makes/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I definitely have a tendency to only see the blemishes of things, and see lots of things about my acting that I don't like.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-giamatti/i-definitely-have-a-tendency-to-only-see-the-blemishes-of-things-and/) [Paul Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-giamatti/) > [“We are nothing without them, our scars and our blemishes. Take away our delusional smiles if you must, snatch away our illusory happiness if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shruti-upadhaya/we-are-nothing-without-them-our-scars-and-our-blemishes-take-away-our/) [Shruti Upadhaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shruti-upadhaya/) > [“I wanted to leave marks or what?prints or blemishes? so when they track you, they'd know, i'd been there inside you, like an odour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehddah/i-wanted-to-leave-marks-or-what-prints-or-blemishes-so-when-they/) [ehddah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehddah/) > [As in the case of painters, who have undertaken to give us a beautiful and graceful figure, which may have some slight blemishes, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/as-in-the-case-of-painters-who-have-undertaken-to-give-us-a-beautiful/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [“Not blemishes. Adornments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/not-blemishes-adornments/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Count Your Blessings, Not The Blemishes On Your Face...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/count-your-blessings-not-the-blemishes-on-your-face/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [I definitely have a tendency to only see the blemishes of things, and see lots of things about my acting that I don't like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-giamatti/i-definitely-have-a-tendency-to-only-see-the-blemishes-of-things-and-2/) [Paul Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-giamatti/) > [When I did my self-portrait, I left all the pimples out because you always should. Pimples are a temporary condition and they don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/when-i-did-my-self-portrait-i-left-all-the-pimples-out-because-you/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) [Browse all 12 Blemishes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blemishes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame them for our larger defects.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Fry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-that-we-can-blame-them-for-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blemishes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-that-we-can-blame-them-for-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/stephen-fry-573_blemishes_we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-t_1137305.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We keep our insignificant blemishes so that we can blame them for our larger defects.” — Stephen Fry", "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 Fry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We keep our insignificant blemishes so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-that-we-can-blame-them-for-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/we-keep-our-insignificant-blemishes-so-that-we-can-blame-them-for-our/#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 } } ] } ```