--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The large print giveth, but the small…" description: "\"The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg" --- # The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away. ![“The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg) > “The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Big promises may be appealing, but fine details often undermine them. **In simple terms:** Big promises can backfire. Key Takeaway Watch the details. Themes promise detail consequence Mood cautious skeptical Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - contracts - advertising - personal decisions Key Concepts critical thinking skepticism nuance Questions to Reflect On - Do you read the fine print before agreeing? - How can you protect yourself from hidden clauses? A Different Perspective Not all small print is malicious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better off dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-off-dead/) [Large Print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-print-430322/) [Print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/print/) [Print Giveth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/print-giveth-430325/) [Print Taketh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/print-taketh-430324/) [Small print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-print/) ## Related quotes > [The large print giveth and the small print taketh away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-large-print-giveth-and-the-small-print-taketh-away/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-big-print-giveth-and-the-small-print-taketh-away/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The big print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-big-print-giveth-and-the-fine-print-taketh-away/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I'm not a big fan of my books going on cross-country road trips. They get arrogant and, next thing, start aspiring to become 'large-print'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-my-books-going-on-cross-country-road-trips-they/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Fairly large print is a real antidote to stiff reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-fisher/fairly-large-print-is-a-real-antidote-to-stiff-reading/) [Ronald Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-fisher/) > [I have come to believe that large print, thick and heavy paper, and wide margins and oversize leading is indicative of the expected intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/i-have-come-to-believe-that-large-print-thick-and-heavy-paper-and/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [Rose-colored glasses are never made in bifocals. Nobody wants to read the small print in dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/rose-colored-glasses-are-never-made-in-bifocals-nobody-wants-to-read/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [Perdition awaits at the end of a road constructed entirely from good intentions, the devil emerges from the details and hell abides in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perdition-awaits-at-the-end-of-a-road-constructed-entirely-from-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here in the UK, we've now got an evangelical television channel - it's the kind of thing that will be very familiar to everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-condell/here-in-the-uk-we-ve-now-got-an-evangelical-television-channel-it-s/) [Pat Condell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-condell/) > [“In the end, it is your responsibility to read the small print, whether it is for gig contracts, record contracts, investors, management, booking agents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-weisman/in-the-end-it-is-your-responsibility-to-read-the-small-print-whether/) [Loren Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-weisman/) > [The truth seems to love the small print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-o-shaughnessy/the-truth-seems-to-love-the-small-print/) [James O'Shaughnessy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-o-shaughnessy/) > [I joined another circle and the leader gave us a little leaflet in very small print, asking us to read it carefully and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-smedley/i-joined-another-circle-and-the-leader-gave-us-a-little-leaflet-in/) [Agnes Smedley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-smedley/) > [“Never be tricked by the small print! It’s right there in front of you, right there in front of you, and you can’t even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/never-be-tricked-by-the-small-print-it-s-right-there-in-front-of-you/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Read carefully anything that requires your signature. Remember the big print giveth and the small print taketh away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/read-carefully-anything-that-requires-your-signature-remember-the-big/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Better off dead quotes > [“      “Might I ask what it is you’ve discovered Sir? It may help in the care of our two patients when nurse Carstairs arrives tomorrow.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-monaghan/might-i-ask-what-it-is-you-ve-discovered-sir-it-may-help-in-the-care/) [C.L. Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-monaghan/) > [“Halliday’s favorites, like WarGames, Ghostbusters, Real Genius, Better Off Dead, or Revenge of the Nerds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/halliday-s-favorites-like-wargames-ghostbusters-real-genius-better/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [People ask why it is I do these things, But they don't know what its like to go to bed and not be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/people-ask-why-it-is-i-do-these-things-but-they-don-t-know-what-its/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [“It was difficult for Rumfoord to take Billy seriously, since Rumfoord had so long considered Billy a repulsive non-person who would be much better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-was-difficult-for-rumfoord-to-take-billy-seriously-since-rumfoord/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“We would all be better off dead, useless eaters of the lotus that we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/we-would-all-be-better-off-dead-useless-eaters-of-the-lotus-that-we/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [Living a lie = Better off dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kisstopher/living-a-lie-better-off-dead/) [Kisstopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kisstopher/) > [If you sense the world is tough, we totally possess the same opinion, only we don't have the same way to build it better,The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-son-beats/if-you-sense-the-world-is-tough-we-totally-possess-the-same-opinion/) [Black Son Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-son-beats/) > [We're starting to feel We stayed together out of fear Of dying alone I've been slipping through the years my old clothes don't fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/we-re-starting-to-feel-we-stayed-together-out-of-fear-of-dying-alone/) [she's\_gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/she-s-gone/) > [If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid looking in a mirror, because I bet that will really throw you into a panic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/if-you-ever-catch-on-fire-try-to-avoid-looking-in-a-mirror-because-i/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [You say you know me but you really don't know, With the way I feel its no other way I can let my emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/you-say-you-know-me-but-you-really-don-t-know-with-the-way-i-feel-its/) [She's\_gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/she-s-gone/) > [Why do you sit here and cry for me? I am gone and nothing you do will bring me back. But the truth isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-do-you-sit-here-and-cry-for-me-i-am-gone-and-nothing-you-do-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you ever get the feeling where you dont want to talk to anybody?you dont want to smile and you dont want to fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-ever-get-the-feeling-where-you-dont-want-to-talk-to-anybody/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [PS: Dear Death Here I am sitting on a rocking chair As my heart beats like the flow of an air With smiling thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/ps-dear-death-here-i-am-sitting-on-a-rocking-chair-as-my-heart-beats/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [“I’m sorry, Abby. I panicked.” I shook my head. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” “Me? I would have been better off dead if Travis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/i-m-sorry-abby-i-panicked-i-shook-my-head-i-m-just-glad-you-re-okay/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [An empty room, an empty girl Sitting silently on the floor Her sleeve rolled up, exposing skin She drags the blade and presses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-empty-room-an-empty-girl-sitting-silently-on-the-floor-her-sleeve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 123 Better off dead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-off-dead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-print-taketh-away/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Better off dead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-print-taketh-away/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eec/tom-waits-916_better-off-dead_the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-pri_1690543.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The large print giveth, but the small print taketh away.” — Tom Waits", "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": "Tom Waits", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The large print giveth, but the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-print-taketh-away/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-large-print-giveth-but-the-small-print-taketh-away/#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 } } ] } ```