---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There comes a time in the affairs of man…"
description: "\"There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.\" — W. C. Fields"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png"
---

#  There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take…

![“There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.” quote by W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png)

> “There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.”

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When circumstances become critical, decisive action is required rather than avoidance.

**In simple terms:** Act decisively in crisis.

Key Takeaway

Courage over hesitation.

Themes

courage decision‑making responsibility action leadership

Mood

determined resolute urgent

Type

proverb motivational

When to use this quote

- leadership crisis
- personal dilemma
- team conflict
- emergency response
- ethical stand

Key Concepts

agency risk urgency

Practical Applications

- strategic planning
- conflict resolution

Questions to Reflect On

- What prevents you from taking bold action?
- How can you prepare for inevitable tough choices?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“I'm accustomed to being top man. I been a bull goose catskinner for every gyppo logging operation in the Northwest and bull goose gambler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/i-m-accustomed-to-being-top-man-i-been-a-bull-goose-catskinner-for/)

[Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/)

> [“If Marlboro Man was wrong, I didn’t want to be right. Where would all of this lead? At times I asked myself and wondered.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/if-marlboro-man-was-wrong-i-didn-t-want-to-be-right-where-would-all/)

[Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/)

> [We do not say that a man who takes no interest in public affairs is a man who minds his own business. We say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pericles/we-do-not-say-that-a-man-who-takes-no-interest-in-public-affairs-is-a/)

[Pericles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pericles/)

> [Any one prominent in affairs can always see when a man may steal a horse and when a man may not look over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/any-one-prominent-in-affairs-can-always-see-when-a-man-may-steal-a/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [A nice state of affairs when a man has to indulge his vices by proxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-nice-state-of-affairs-when-a-man-has-to-indulge-his-vices-by-proxy/)

[Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/)

> [If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-you-can-t-dazzle-them-with-brilliance-baffle-them-with-bull/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [There comes a time in your life when you have done so many things, and you just want to give back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamarcus-russell/there-comes-a-time-in-your-life-when-you-have-done-so-many-things-and/)

[JaMarcus Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamarcus-russell/)

> [There comes a time, where eventually, someone has to let go. Even if it's hard...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/there-comes-a-time-where-eventually-someone-has-to-let-go-even-if-it/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [There comes a time when silence is betrayal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/there-comes-a-time-when-silence-is-betrayal/)

[Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/)

> [Ask anyone on Social Security if their check comes on time every month. Like clockwork. And it comes through the so-called dilapidated U.S. mail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/ask-anyone-on-social-security-if-their-check-comes-on-time-every/)

[Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/)

> [“It all comes with time and patience”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelina-zahra-janmohamed/it-all-comes-with-time-and-patience/)

[Shelina Zahra Janmohamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelina-zahra-janmohamed/)

> [“Time plays no role in the life of one man—the subtle consciousness of it floating past me is more than enough. Years, months, days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-martin/time-plays-no-role-in-the-life-of-one-man-the-subtle-consciousness-of/)

[Henry Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-martin/)

> [There comes a time when you have to grow up and start thinking for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-paul/there-comes-a-time-when-you-have-to-grow-up-and-start-thinking-for/)

[Logan Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-paul/)

> [The big picture doesn't just come from distance; it also comes from time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/the-big-picture-doesn-t-just-come-from-distance-it-also-comes-from/)

[Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/)

> [All of us depend on fate. But I have to openly say that there comes a time when I've had enough of fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-heinz-rummenigge/all-of-us-depend-on-fate-but-i-have-to-openly-say-that-there-comes-a/)

[Karl-Heinz Rummenigge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-heinz-rummenigge/)

## More by W. C. Fields

> [Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house unless they have a well-stocked bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/thou-shalt-not-covet-thy-neighbor-s-house-unless-they-have-a-well/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [Take me down to the bar! We'll drink breakfast together!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/take-me-down-to-the-bar-we-ll-drink-breakfast-together/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [If pigs had wings, they would be pigeons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-pigs-had-wings-they-would-be-pigeons/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [I feel like a midget with muddy feet had been walking over my tongue all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-feel-like-a-midget-with-muddy-feet-had-been-walking-over-my-tongue/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [What would you do if you were President, and, on the first day of May, the Russian Ambassador presented you with a beautiful cake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-president-and-on-the-first-day-of-may/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [My illness is due to my doctor's insistence that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force down helpless babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/my-illness-is-due-to-my-doctor-s-insistence-that-i-drink-milk-a/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [I am an expert of electricity. My father occupied the chair of applied electricity at the state prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-am-an-expert-of-electricity-my-father-occupied-the-chair-of-applied/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [Bert Williams was the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/bert-williams-was-the-funniest-man-i-ever-saw-and-the-saddest-man-i/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [A comic should suffer as much over a single line as a man with a hernia would in picking up a heavy barbell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/a-comic-should-suffer-as-much-over-a-single-line-as-a-man-with-a/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [All my available funds are completely tied up in cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/all-my-available-funds-are-completely-tied-up-in-cash/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [Back in my rummy days, I would tremble and shake for hours upon arising. It was the only exercise I got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/back-in-my-rummy-days-i-would-tremble-and-shake-for-hours-upon/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [Happiness means quiet nerves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/happiness-means-quiet-nerves/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [W. C. Fields, a lifetime agnostic, was discovered reading a Bible on his deathbed. ''I'm looking for a loop-hole,'' he explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/w-c-fields-a-lifetime-agnostic-was-discovered-reading-a-bible-on-his/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [The movie people would have nothing to do with me until they heard me speak in a Broadway play, then they all wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/the-movie-people-would-have-nothing-to-do-with-me-until-they-heard-me/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

> [Marriage is better than leprosy only because it's easier to get rid of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/marriage-is-better-than-leprosy-only-because-it-s-easier-to-get-rid-of/)

[W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

[Explore all 221 W. C. Fields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/)

## More Bull quotes

> [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Bullfights are hugely popular because you can sit comfortably with a hot dog and possibly watch a man die. It wont be me, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/bullfights-are-hugely-popular-because-you-can-sit-comfortably-with-a/)

[Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/)

> [I'll Ride With You Through All The Bull Shit , But Just Don't Bull Shit Mee .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marixsol/i-ll-ride-with-you-through-all-the-bull-shit-but-just-don-t-bull-shit/)

Marixsol

> ['Raging Bull' was just a dream to work on, but it took a lot of work to get all those fights to work right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/raging-bull-was-just-a-dream-to-work-on-but-it-took-a-lot-of-work-to/)

[Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/)

> [“Where’s the bull? (Callie) Tied to a tree, eating my boot. I’m just glad my leg is no longer in it. (Sin) Lad, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinley-macgregor/where-s-the-bull-callie-tied-to-a-tree-eating-my-boot-i-m-just-glad/)

[Kinley MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinley-macgregor/)

> [A bull will try to outwit you. It will stop and hook when the last thing you expect from it is that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/a-bull-will-try-to-outwit-you-it-will-stop-and-hook-when-the-last/)

[Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/)

> [“Had a gay bull I had to sell last year. That was a damn nuisance. Gay son? That don't cost me nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/had-a-gay-bull-i-had-to-sell-last-year-that-was-a-damn-nuisance-gay/)

[Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/)

> [This my bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-my-bull/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [This my young bull he can fight yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-my-young-bull-he-can-fight-yo/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Bull in a China Shop The metaphor “bull in a china shop” appropriately describes how a clumsy (or socially awkward) person can sometimes find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/bull-in-a-china-shop-the-metaphor-bull-in-a-china-shop-appropriately/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

> [“How in the world did they just jump from politics, to a ball, and now to daimon attacks? And here I’d thought I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/how-in-the-world-did-they-just-jump-from-politics-to-a-ball-and-now/)

[Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/)

> [I bet you my body is three-quarters Red Bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-bet-you-my-body-is-three-quarters-red-bull/)

[Charlamagne tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/)

> [On a ruinous wall I came upon a poster dating from the previous year and announcing that ‘six handsome bulls’ would be killed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/on-a-ruinous-wall-i-came-upon-a-poster-dating-from-the-previous-year/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“But in truth,' said Bull, 'we are going nowhere. That my friend, is the irony of our constant movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/but-in-truth-said-bull-we-are-going-nowhere-that-my-friend-is-the/)

[Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/)

> [“Bull spots us and gives his two-thumbs salute, trotting backwards. Imm-pressive! All those years of practice are starting to pay off - his footy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-condon/bull-spots-us-and-gives-his-two-thumbs-salute-trotting-backwards-imm/)

[Bill Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-condon/)

Browse all 308 Bull quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "W. C. Fields"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man-when-he-must-take-the-bull/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bull"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man-when-he-must-take-the-bull/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/w-c-fields-1625_bull_there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man_75628.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.” — W. C. Fields",
                "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": "W. C. Fields",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There comes a time in the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man-when-he-must-take-the-bull/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man-when-he-must-take-the-bull/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
