--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: His smile was the nightmare in my back…" description: "\"His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)\" — William Gibson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png" --- # His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking… ![“His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)” quote by William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png) > “His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)” [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. His smile is a hidden threat, symbolizing deceptive power. **In simple terms:** A smile can hide dangerous intentions. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant of hidden motives behind pleasant façades. Themes trust deception power politics danger Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political analysis - personal interactions - media literacy Key Concepts symbolism psychology political critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern genuine intent? - When might a smile be a strategic tool? A Different Perspective Not all threats are obvious; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [His smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-smile/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nightmare Pocket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare-pocket-1138013/) [Pockets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pockets/) [Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reagan/) [Ronald reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ronald-reagan/) [Smile Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smile-nightmare-1138012/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Ronald Reagan's biographer wrote of the former president's final days: "for all the intimate familiarity of that face and body, I did not feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morris/ronald-reagan-s-biographer-wrote-of-the-former-president-s-final-days/) [Edwin Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-morris/) > [Ronald Reagan has a story for every occasion. Bill Clinton has an excuse for every occasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-barnes/ronald-reagan-has-a-story-for-every-occasion-bill-clinton-has-an/) [Fred Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-barnes/) > [You can't have a discussion about politics without mentioning Ronald Reagan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-jarecki/you-can-t-have-a-discussion-about-politics-without-mentioning-ronald/) [Eugene Jarecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-jarecki/) > [Ronald Reagan is the most ignorant president since Warren Harding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/ronald-reagan-is-the-most-ignorant-president-since-warren-harding/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Ronald Reagan knew who he was. Barack Obama is still working through that equation politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-scarborough/ronald-reagan-knew-who-he-was-barack-obama-is-still-working-through/) [Joe Scarborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-scarborough/) > [Anti-Tax fetishist Grover Norquist owns a bust of Ronald Reagan, who raised taxes 11 times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fugelsang/anti-tax-fetishist-grover-norquist-owns-a-bust-of-ronald-reagan-who/) [John Fugelsang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fugelsang/) > [Ronald Reagan had a kind of shallow movie-star charisma - a combination of makeup and the skill of a good actor - but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/ronald-reagan-had-a-kind-of-shallow-movie-star-charisma-a-combination/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [The legacy of Ronald Reagan will live on forever. I, of course, had the wonderful opportunity of working with him and getting to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-brady/the-legacy-of-ronald-reagan-will-live-on-forever-i-of-course-had-the/) [Sarah Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-brady/) > [I'm looking for a president that'll be like a Ronald Reagan to a Jimmy Carter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/i-m-looking-for-a-president-that-ll-be-like-a-ronald-reagan-to-a/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [ \[Ronald\] Reagan seems to be a man of some basic convictions and on the other hand willing to let others do the ground homework,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-schmidt/ronald-reagan-seems-to-be-a-man-of-some-basic-convictions-and-on-the/) [Helmut Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-schmidt/) > [Dwight Eisenhower presented a face of America that was heroic and resolute; Ronald Reagan represented a return to confidence and glamour after the weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/dwight-eisenhower-presented-a-face-of-america-that-was-heroic-and/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Half a century ago, Ronald Reagan, the man whose relentless optimism inspired me to enter politics, famously said that he didn't leave the Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-crist/half-a-century-ago-ronald-reagan-the-man-whose-relentless-optimism/) [Charlie Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-crist/) > [ Everything \[Ronald Reagan\] got, the tax cuts, he had Democrats outnumbering him in the House and Senate everywhere. There were certain realities that he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/everything-ronald-reagan-got-the-tax-cuts-he-had-democrats/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Ronald Reagan just signed the new tax law. But I think he was in Hollywood too long. He signed it, 'Best wishes, Ronald Reagan.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/ronald-reagan-just-signed-the-new-tax-law-but-i-think-he-was-in/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [At the height of the Cold War, when Ronald Reagan was president, the Soviets and their allies and satellites did not shirk human rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/at-the-height-of-the-cold-war-when-ronald-reagan-was-president-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## More by William Gibson > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“No," said Blackwell, "she won't, because that would be a violation of the very personal terms I will have established in our conversation. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/no-said-blackwell-she-won-t-because-that-would-be-a-violation-of-the/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Music was strange that way though; there were people into any damned thing, it seemed like, and if you got enough of them together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/music-was-strange-that-way-though-there-were-people-into-any-damned/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Fiction is an illusion wrought with many small, conventionally symbolic marks, triggering visions in the minds of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/fiction-is-an-illusion-wrought-with-many-small-conventionally/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [The experience of celebrity is gradually being democratized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/the-experience-of-celebrity-is-gradually-being-democratized/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [I don't generate a storyline and then fill it out in the course of writing. The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“What happened to your arm?" she asked me one night in the Gentleman Loser, the three of us drinking at a small table in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/what-happened-to-your-arm-she-asked-me-one-night-in-the-gentleman/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/in-heathrow-a-vast-chunk-of-memory-detached-itself-from-a-blank-bowl/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/and-for-an-instant-she-stared-directly-into-those-soft-blue-eyes-and/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [ \[When\] Johnny Mnemonic was coming out and I realized that all the kids that worked in 7-11 knew more - or thought they knew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-johnny-mnemonic-was-coming-out-and-i-realized-that-all-the-kids/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Andrea maintained that men like Alain lied so constantly, so passionately, that some basic distinction had been lost. They were artists in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/andrea-maintained-that-men-like-alain-lied-so-constantly-so/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/because-he-had-a-good-agent-he-had-a-good-contract-because-he-had-a/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) [Explore all 430 William Gibson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More His smile quotes > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/even-in-the-darkness-his-smile-threw-shadows/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [His smile is like the silver plate on a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/his-smile-is-like-the-silver-plate-on-a-coffin/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall, By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/and-by-his-smile-i-knew-that-sullen-hall-by-his-dead-smile-i-knew-we/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [How was your night?" I asked, my voice carefully neutral as I attempted to break the ice. My spying adventures still hung uncomfortably between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/how-was-your-night-i-asked-my-voice-carefully-neutral-as-i-attempted/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [After the survivor of the Spanish conquest has told his life's story he is convicted by the Inquisition: He posted no brief in defense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-jennings/after-the-survivor-of-the-spanish-conquest-has-told-his-life-s-story/) [Gary Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-jennings/) > [Forever this time," he said as Sawyer strode toward them. Tara sighed blissfully. "You know what this means, right?" "I'm done guessing," he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/forever-this-time-he-said-as-sawyer-strode-toward-them-tara-sighed/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [His gratitude widened his smile and bent his back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/his-gratitude-widened-his-smile-and-bent-his-back/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Okay," I said. "I'd hoped to avoid this, but... Bill, I rescind your invitation into my house." Bill began walking backward to the door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/okay-i-said-i-d-hoped-to-avoid-this-but-bill-i-rescind-your/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [Your mortal attachments are like a puppet’s strings," Avari said, both hands clasped casually at his back. "One need only pluck the right cord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/your-mortal-attachments-are-like-a-puppet-s-strings-avari-said-both/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [Memphis found his smile. 'You know me, sir. I don't wear worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/memphis-found-his-smile-you-know-me-sir-i-don-t-wear-worry/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [If women had to promise to provide for a man for a lifetime before he removed his veil and showed her his smile, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/if-women-had-to-promise-to-provide-for-a-man-for-a-lifetime-before-he/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [The driver got out smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I had the uneasy feeling it was Luke, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/the-driver-got-out-smiling-he-looked-about-seventeen-or-eighteen-and/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [She liked the way his smile took a long time to arrive and just as long to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/she-liked-the-way-his-smile-took-a-long-time-to-arrive-and-just-as/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) [Browse all 85 His smile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-smile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Gibson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-pocket-speaking-about-ronald/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "His smile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-pocket-speaking-about-ronald/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/william-gibson-642_his-smile_his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-p_2509025.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“His smile was the nightmare in my back pocket.(Speaking about Ronald Reagan)” — William Gibson", "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 Gibson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "His smile was the nightmare in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-pocket-speaking-about-ronald/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/his-smile-was-the-nightmare-in-my-back-pocket-speaking-about-ronald/#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 } } ] } ```