--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was his own leftover, the spat-out…" description: "\"He was his own leftover, the spat-out scrag. He was what his brain could make nothing of.\" — Ted Hughes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/ted-hughes-8662_brain_he-was-his-own-leftover-the-spat-out-scr_1516494.png" --- # He was his own leftover, the spat-out scrag. He was what… ![“He was his own leftover, the spat-out scrag. He was what his brain could make nothing of.” quote by Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/ted-hughes-8662_brain_he-was-his-own-leftover-the-spat-out-scr_1516494.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/ted-hughes-8662_brain_he-was-his-own-leftover-the-spat-out-scr_1516494.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/ted-hughes-8662_brain_he-was-his-own-leftover-the-spat-out-scr_1516494.png) > “He was his own leftover, the spat-out scrag. He was what his brain could make nothing of.” [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He is a discarded fragment, unable to become something meaningful. **In simple terms:** He feels useless and abandoned. Key Takeaway Recognize self‑worth beyond external labels. Themes identity abandonment self‑esteem Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic literary When to use this quote - mental health therapy - creative expression - support groups Key Concepts existential alienation psychological trauma Questions to Reflect On - What defines your value? - How can you rebuild purpose? A Different Perspective Recovery requires external support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Leftover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftover-627262/) [Leftover Spat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftover-spat-5594775/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Scrag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrag-5594777/) [Scrag Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrag-brain-5594774/) [Spat Scrag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spat-scrag-5594776/) [Spats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spats/) ## Related quotes > [Open the fridge and put My heart on a plate. I'm just as you left me, and I taste even better leftover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-von-ziegesar/open-the-fridge-and-put-my-heart-on-a-plate-i-m-just-as-you-left-me/) [Cecily von Ziegesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-von-ziegesar/) > [“I stole a bit of a chopped vegetable and was about to put it in my mouth when Jae’s long fingers closed over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ford/i-stole-a-bit-of-a-chopped-vegetable-and-was-about-to-put-it-in-my/) [Rhys Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ford/) > [“I reminded myself of a leftover piece of meat that was starting to spoil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-honigmann/i-reminded-myself-of-a-leftover-piece-of-meat-that-was-starting-to/) [Barbara Honigmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-honigmann/) > [But unfortunately, when you have a kid, you sometimes eat everything they leave behind. So far today I've had some of her leftover pancakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joely-fisher/but-unfortunately-when-you-have-a-kid-you-sometimes-eat-everything/) [Joely Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joely-fisher/) > [“Weren't you wearing a purity ring when we got here? Aren't you supposed to be saving yourself?" Shanti asked. "Yeah," Mary Lou answered. "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/weren-t-you-wearing-a-purity-ring-when-we-got-here-aren-t-you/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [With two leftover husbands to account for, my wicked soul has just about shriveled and died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-mccambridge/with-two-leftover-husbands-to-account-for-my-wicked-soul-has-just/) [Mercedes McCambridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-mccambridge/) > [“On the off chance my caller would tell me to quit drinking, I positioned myself on the sofa with two six-packs and a bottle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/on-the-off-chance-my-caller-would-tell-me-to-quit-drinking-i/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I eat leftover caviar by hand, with baked potato, like peasants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ion-tiriac/i-eat-leftover-caviar-by-hand-with-baked-potato-like-peasants/) [Ion Tiriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ion-tiriac/) > [I sometimes take leftover food from craft services and give away a bunch of sandwiches on my way home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-durance/i-sometimes-take-leftover-food-from-craft-services-and-give-away-a/) [Erica Durance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-durance/) > [“He went downstairs and padded along the hall to the kitchen, absently picking the seat of his shorts out of the crack of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/he-went-downstairs-and-padded-along-the-hall-to-the-kitchen-absently/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“I wander back out, and find Patrick doing the unthinkable. He is cooking. There are two placemats on the island, napkins and forks. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/i-wander-back-out-and-find-patrick-doing-the-unthinkable-he-is/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) > [The people God put in your life are not there by accident. Don’t get so busy that you just give them your leftover time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/the-people-god-put-in-your-life-are-not-there-by-accident-don-t-get/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“Leave me with my leftover meatloaf and my Yesterday Sandwich. I’ll be in love tomorrow, if you come back with the ketchup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/leave-me-with-my-leftover-meatloaf-and-my-yesterday-sandwich-i-ll-be/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Very early in my culinary career, while helping another cook prepare the staff meal, I stirred some chopped raw garlic and herbs into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samin-nosrat/very-early-in-my-culinary-career-while-helping-another-cook-prepare/) [Samin Nosrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samin-nosrat/) > [I'd bet most of America's refrigerators have leftover pumpkin pie on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's delicious the first couple of times you eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-doocy/i-d-bet-most-of-america-s-refrigerators-have-leftover-pumpkin-pie-on/) [Steve Doocy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-doocy/) ## More by Ted Hughes > [The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/the-only-calibration-that-counts-is-how-much-heart-people-invest-how/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [The inmost spirit of poetry, in other words, is at bottom, in every recorded case, the voice of pain – and the physical body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/the-inmost-spirit-of-poetry-in-other-words-is-at-bottom-in-every/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [“I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed. Inaction, no falsifying dream Between my hooked head and hooked feet: Or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/i-sit-in-the-top-of-the-wood-my-eyes-closed-inaction-no-falsifying/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel. Over the cage floor the horizons come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/the-world-rolls-under-the-long-thrust-of-his-heel-over-the-cage-floor/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [But who is stronger than death? Me , evidently .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/but-who-is-stronger-than-death-me-evidently/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [You are who you choose to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/you-are-who-you-choose-to-be/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [Applause is the beginning of abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/applause-is-the-beginning-of-abuse/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [Stilled legendary depth: It was as deep as England. It held Pike too immense to stir, so immense and old That past nightfall I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/stilled-legendary-depth-it-was-as-deep-as-england-it-held-pike-too/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [As Popa penetrates deeper into his life, with book after book, it begins to look like a Universe passing through a Universe. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/as-popa-penetrates-deeper-into-his-life-with-book-after-book-it/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [“I had let it all grow. I had supposed It was all OK. Your life Was a liner I voyaged in. Costly education had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/i-had-let-it-all-grow-i-had-supposed-it-was-all-ok-your-life-was-a/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [He could not stand. It was not That he could not thrive, he was born With everything but the will – That can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/he-could-not-stand-it-was-not-that-he-could-not-thrive-he-was-born/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [“If you're all so peaceful up there, how did you get such greedy and cruel ideas?" The dragon was silent for a long time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/if-you-re-all-so-peaceful-up-there-how-did-you-get-such-greedy-and/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [Do as you like with me. I'm your parcel. I have only our address on me. Open me, or readdress me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/do-as-you-like-with-me-i-m-your-parcel-i-have-only-our-address-on-me/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [The real mystery is this strange need. Why can't we just hide it and shut up? Why do we have to blab? Why do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/the-real-mystery-is-this-strange-need-why-can-t-we-just-hide-it-and/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [With a sudden sharp hot stink of fox, It enters the dark hole of the head. The window is starless still; the clock ticks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/with-a-sudden-sharp-hot-stink-of-fox-it-enters-the-dark-hole-of-the/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) [Explore all 79 Ted Hughes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) ## More Brain quotes > [The brain abhors discrepancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/the-brain-abhors-discrepancies/) [Vilayanur S. Ramachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/) > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [I prefer the word 'musician.' I'm a musician and a composer. I have a problem with the word 'artist.' I don't know if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-prefer-the-word-musician-i-m-a-musician-and-a-composer-i-have-a/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [Thinking of sex provides enough mental stimulation to reduce risk of diseases that damage the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thinking-of-sex-provides-enough-mental-stimulation-to-reduce-risk-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My writing routine is: get son off to school and sit down at 8 A.M. 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I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [being asked to decide between your passion for work and your passion for children was like being asked by your doctor whether you preferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-bevington/being-asked-to-decide-between-your-passion-for-work-and-your-passion/) [Helen Bevington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-bevington/) > [I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. 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