--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you have to eat crow, eat it while…" description: "\"If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender.\" — Thomas Jefferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg" --- # If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender. ![“If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg) > “If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consume unpleasant tasks early while they’re still manageable. **In simple terms:** Deal with difficulties promptly. Key Takeaway Address problems before they worsen. Themes proactivity discipline timing Mood pragmatic motivational Type advice practical When to use this quote - budgeting - health decisions - conflict resolution - career moves Key Concepts self‑management decision making life hacks Questions to Reflect On - What “crows” are you avoiding? - How can early action change outcomes? A Different Perspective Some “crows” may not improve with time; patience may be needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Once in a while, God sends a good white person my way, even to this day. I think it's God's way of keeping me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-elizabeth-delany/once-in-a-while-god-sends-a-good-white-person-my-way-even-to-this-day/) [Annie Elizabeth Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-elizabeth-delany/) > [“He had plans all right, he thought as Sarah trotted off. To eat crow.He wasn't sure what it tasted like, but he already knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/he-had-plans-all-right-he-thought-as-sarah-trotted-off-to-eat-crow-he/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [And the first step, as you know, is always what matters most, particularly when we are dealing with those who are young and tender.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-the-first-step-as-you-know-is-always-what-matters-most/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The beginning is the most important part, especially when dealing with anything young and tender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-beginning-is-the-most-important-part-especially-when-dealing-with/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Slum children eat crow's eggs for nutrition yet nobody respects this common bird. It's the exotic birds which fascinate all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/slum-children-eat-crow-s-eggs-for-nutrition-yet-nobody-respects-this/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [“I was forced to eat crow. I was so embarrassed that I would have eaten any other bird, including ostrich.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-was-forced-to-eat-crow-i-was-so-embarrassed-that-i-would-have-eaten/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You're a good example of why some animals eat their young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-samuels/you-re-a-good-example-of-why-some-animals-eat-their-young/) Jim Samuels > [I try to eat how your mother wanted you to eat when you were young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-morris/i-try-to-eat-how-your-mother-wanted-you-to-eat-when-you-were-young/) [Heather Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-morris/) > [“So if you are what you eat and you are as young as you feel, then I am a pizza, right out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-althouse/so-if-you-are-what-you-eat-and-you-are-as-young-as-you-feel-then-i-am/) [Tom Althouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-althouse/) > [You just don't know writers. They'll use anything, anybody. They'll eat their young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-potter/you-just-don-t-know-writers-they-ll-use-anything-anybody-they-ll-eat/) [Dennis Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-potter/) > [Hollywood is wonderful, but it does eat its young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/hollywood-is-wonderful-but-it-does-eat-its-young/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [Record company execs eat their young, I swear to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-barnes/record-company-execs-eat-their-young-i-swear-to-god/) [Linda Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-barnes/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [You understand why some animals eat their young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-jones/you-understand-why-some-animals-eat-their-young/) [John Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-jones/) > [Now I know why tigers eat their young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/now-i-know-why-tigers-eat-their-young/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Crow quotes > [“That fucking crow-bodied thing had won. How gleeful it was now. All because he'd wanted to live, forget genius and destiny, and simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/that-fucking-crow-bodied-thing-had-won-how-gleeful-it-was-now-all/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“I pull his hand up to my chest. "It's okay. Some of my best friends are in the mob. It must be really tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorge-leedy/i-pull-his-hand-up-to-my-chest-it-s-okay-some-of-my-best-friends-are/) [Giorge Leedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorge-leedy/) > [Here the crow starves, here the patient stag Breeds for the rifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-stearns-eliot/here-the-crow-starves-here-the-patient-stag-breeds-for-the-rifle/) [Thomas Stearns Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-stearns-eliot/) > [The welfare state has done to Black Americans what slavery (and Jim Crow and racism) could not have done. . .break up the black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/the-welfare-state-has-done-to-black-americans-what-slavery-and-jim/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“music puts me in touch with life's energy and death still hanging like an old crow on the vines of my mind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-abi-akl/music-puts-me-in-touch-with-life-s-energy-and-death-still-hanging/) [Hanna Abi Akl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-abi-akl/) > [It's a matter of how the bullpen looks as to whether Bell goes in there or Crow goes in there. Bell won't be ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-graham/it-s-a-matter-of-how-the-bullpen-looks-as-to-whether-bell-goes-in/) Wayne Graham > [I've always been a really really big Sheryl Crow fan. I just respect what she does in a way that she just remains true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-voegele/i-ve-always-been-a-really-really-big-sheryl-crow-fan-i-just-respect/) [Kate Voegele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-voegele/) > [I went from an unemployed actor's life to doing stand-up comedy, and that was fortuitous. It's not the usual way the crow flies, going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-tate/i-went-from-an-unemployed-actor-s-life-to-doing-stand-up-comedy-and/) [Catherine Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-tate/) > [You cannot be responsible for Jim Crow. You can not be responsible for racism. This is much more a problem for the person exercising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/you-cannot-be-responsible-for-jim-crow-you-can-not-be-responsible-for/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [You know, all is development. The principle is perpetually going on. First, there was nothing, then there was something; then-I forget the next-I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/you-know-all-is-development-the-principle-is-perpetually-going-on/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I submit my tongue as an instrument of righteousness when I make it bless them that curse me and pray for them who persecute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/i-submit-my-tongue-as-an-instrument-of-righteousness-when-i-make-it/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [She stood looking carefully at the labeled portraits Ursala had put up: Little Crow, Chief of the Santees, Geronimo, last of the Apaches, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/she-stood-looking-carefully-at-the-labeled-portraits-ursala-had-put/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) Browse all 426 Crow quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it-s-young-and-tender/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it-s-young-and-tender/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/thomas-jefferson-43_crow_if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it_1723791.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you have to eat crow, eat it while it's young and tender.” — Thomas Jefferson", "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": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you have to eat crow,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it-s-young-and-tender/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-you-have-to-eat-crow-eat-it-while-it-s-young-and-tender/#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 } } ] } ```