--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with some people is that when…" description: "\"The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober.\" — William Butler Yeats" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png" --- # The problem with some people is that when they aren't… ![“The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober.” quote by William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png) > “The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober.” [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some people only reveal their true nature when intoxicated; otherwise they remain ordinary. **In simple terms:** People act differently when drunk versus sober. Key Takeaway Recognize behavior patterns. Themes behavior intoxication authenticity Mood skeptical observational Type humorous critical When to use this quote - friendships - workplace - social gatherings - self‑awareness Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What does sobriety reveal about character? - Can intoxication expose hidden strengths? A Different Perspective Not all sober behavior is negative; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [The problem wiv some blokes is that wen they ain't drunk, they're sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-problem-wiv-some-blokes-is-that-wen-they-ain-t-drunk-they-re-sober/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [That akward moment when your parents ask you if your high, drunk or both and your sober... And they don't belive you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jgawesome/that-akward-moment-when-your-parents-ask-you-if-your-high-drunk-or/) Jgawesome > [I play to all people - all colors, all creeds ~ drunk, sober, everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/i-play-to-all-people-all-colors-all-creeds-drunk-sober-everybody/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) > [The man who says, 'my country right or wrong' is like the man who says, 'my mother drunk or sober'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-man-who-says-my-country-right-or-wrong-is-like-the-man-who-says/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-worst-thing-about-some-men-is-that-when-they-are-not-drunk-they/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Just take a chance let's see if we can make it 'til we're older. When I think about you I get love drunk so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yung-beazie/just-take-a-chance-let-s-see-if-we-can-make-it-til-we-re-older-when-i/) Yung Beazie > [We Persians have a saying that one should deliberate serious matters first drunk, then sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/we-persians-have-a-saying-that-one-should-deliberate-serious-matters/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [Republic . . . it means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/republic-it-means-people-can-live-free-talk-free-go-or-come-buy-or/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-ve-been-drunk-for-about-a-week-now-and-i-thought-it-might-sober-me/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [When sober girls around me, they be actin like they drunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/far-east-movement/when-sober-girls-around-me-they-be-actin-like-they-drunk/) [Far East Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/far-east-movement/) > [Bessie Braddock: "Winston, you're drunk. Churchill: "Bessie, you're ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/bessie-braddock-winston-you-re-drunk-churchill-bessie-you-re-ugly-but/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Uriah proved to be a better man drunk than David was sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/uriah-proved-to-be-a-better-man-drunk-than-david-was-sober/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [I was somewhat drunk with what I had done. And I am always one to prefer being sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-was-somewhat-drunk-with-what-i-had-done-and-i-am-always-one-to/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [People should stop choosing their partners whilst they are drunk, on the grounds they must sober up at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/people-should-stop-choosing-their-partners-whilst-they-are-drunk-on/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [Yes, I'm drunk. But you are beautiful. And tomorrow morning I'll be sober, but you'll still be beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yes-i-m-drunk-but-you-are-beautiful-and-tomorrow-morning-i-ll-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Butler Yeats > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. Some people say there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/you-know-what-the-englishman-s-idea-of-compromise-is-he-says-some/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/that-toil-of-growing-up-the-ignominy-of-boyhood-the-distress-of/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I see a schoolboy when I think of him, With face and nose pressed to a sweet-shop window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-see-a-schoolboy-when-i-think-of-him-with-face-and-nose-pressed-to-a/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Only God, my dear, Could love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/only-god-my-dear-could-love-you-for-yourself-alone-and-not-your/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [We can only begin to live when we conceive life as Tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-can-only-begin-to-live-when-we-conceive-life-as-tragedy/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I know that I shall meet my fate somewhere among the clouds above; those that I fight I do not hate, those that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-know-that-i-shall-meet-my-fate-somewhere-among-the-clouds-above/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Where the wave of moonlight glosses The dim gray sands with light, Far off by furthest Rosses We foot it all the night, Weaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/where-the-wave-of-moonlight-glosses-the-dim-gray-sands-with-light-far/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [His element is so fine Being sharpened by his death, To drink from the wine-breath While our gross palates drink from the whole wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/his-element-is-so-fine-being-sharpened-by-his-death-to-drink-from-the/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [We poets would die of loneliness but for women, and we choose our men friends that we may have somebody to talk about women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-poets-would-die-of-loneliness-but-for-women-and-we-choose-our-men/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/love-is-created-and-preserved-by-intellectual-analysis-for-we-love/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream? For these red lips, with all their mournful pride, Mournful that no new wonder may betide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/who-dreamed-that-beauty-passes-like-a-dream-for-these-red-lips-with/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) [Explore all 652 William Butler Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Drinking quotes > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [You owe me a drink, you're so ugly I dropped mine when I saw you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-owe-me-a-drink-you-re-so-ugly-i-dropped-mine-when-i-saw-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We were still twirling around the tiny parking lot when the neighbors screamed 'Happy New Year'. Unfortunately we weren't sober enough to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-scott/we-were-still-twirling-around-the-tiny-parking-lot-when-the-neighbors/) [Kaitlin Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-scott/) > [I'm drinking away the exam results that don't take me anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-herrick/i-m-drinking-away-the-exam-results-that-don-t-take-me-anywhere/) [Steven Herrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-herrick/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [I guess that's the point of drinking, to take all the feelings and thoughts and morals away until you are just a body doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/i-guess-that-s-the-point-of-drinking-to-take-all-the-feelings-and/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [This is not really currency that circulates. It's like the old joke about expensive vintage wine. Wine prices will go up and once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/this-is-not-really-currency-that-circulates-it-s-like-the-old-joke/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [And it´s so different for a lot of people I´ve known. One partner doesn´t love the other enough to stop drinking, or gambling, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/and-it-s-so-different-for-a-lot-of-people-i-ve-known-one-partner/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [Drinking champagne after making love is like taking a bath in chilled pearls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anistatia-r-miller/drinking-champagne-after-making-love-is-like-taking-a-bath-in-chilled/) Anistatia R. Miller > [I was so drunk last night I fell down and missed the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/i-was-so-drunk-last-night-i-fell-down-and-missed-the-floor/) [Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/) > [Design is all about relationships. Unfortunately, many designers don’t fully appreciate this. Some of the best design work I’ve ever done was drinking coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-burka/design-is-all-about-relationships-unfortunately-many-designers-don-t/) Daniel Burka > [In 1969, I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-best/in-1969-i-gave-up-women-and-alcohol-it-was-the-worst-20-minutes-of-my/) [George Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-best/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Browse all 2,711 Drinking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Butler Yeats" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-when-they-aren-t-drunk-they-re/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Drinking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-when-they-aren-t-drunk-they-re/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c3/william-butler-yeats-350_drinking_the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-whe_2542899.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober.” — William Butler Yeats", "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": "William Butler Yeats", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem with some people is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-when-they-aren-t-drunk-they-re/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-problem-with-some-people-is-that-when-they-aren-t-drunk-they-re/#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 } } ] } ```