--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Clerks get into the damnedest…" description: "\"Clerks get into the damnedest wrangles--which is the way they help me.\" — William J. Brennan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/william-j-brennan-15212_clerks_clerks-get-into-the-damnedest-wrangles-w_2830160.jpg" --- # Clerks get into the damnedest wrangles--which is the way… ![“Clerks get into the damnedest wrangles--which is the way they help me.” quote by William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/william-j-brennan-15212_clerks_clerks-get-into-the-damnedest-wrangles-w_2830160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/william-j-brennan-15212_clerks_clerks-get-into-the-damnedest-wrangles-w_2830160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78c/william-j-brennan-15212_clerks_clerks-get-into-the-damnedest-wrangles-w_2830160.jpg) > “Clerks get into the damnedest wrangles--which is the way they help me.” [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Clerks’ disputes provide him with insight and perspective. **In simple terms:** Legal disputes teach valuable lessons. Key Takeaway Learn from conflicts. Themes law conflict learning Mood analytical reflective Type legal educational When to use this quote - courtroom debates - legal education - professional development Key Concepts judicial reasoning case analysis Questions to Reflect On - What can be learned from a specific case? - How to extract value from conflict? A Different Perspective Not all disputes are constructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clerks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clerks/) [Clerks Damnedest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clerks-damnedest-3651522/) [Damnedest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damnedest-1217358/) [Damnedest Wrangles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damnedest-wrangles-3651523/) [Help me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-me/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-help-333722/) [Wrestling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrestling/) ## Related quotes > [I try my damnedest to quirk up anything that I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-roberts/i-try-my-damnedest-to-quirk-up-anything-that-i-m-in/) [Dallas Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-roberts/) > [People do the damnedest things when theyre in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-do-the-damnedest-things-when-theyre-in-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Lestat, what did I say last night?' he asked. 'You are the damnedest creature ! ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/lestat-what-did-i-say-last-night-he-asked-you-are-the-damnedest/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“You expect us to believe the damnedest things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-wingfield/you-expect-us-to-believe-the-damnedest-things/) [Jenny Wingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-wingfield/) > [Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/do-your-damnedest-in-an-ostentatious-manner-all-the-time/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [The Irish are the damnedest race. They put so much emphasis on so many wrong things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/the-irish-are-the-damnedest-race-they-put-so-much-emphasis-on-so-many/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“I will never be worthy of her. But I spend every day trying my damnedest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/i-will-never-be-worthy-of-her-but-i-spend-every-day-trying-my/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [“He knew in that moment that falling in love with her would destroy him, and so he decided at once that he would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-gray/he-knew-in-that-moment-that-falling-in-love-with-her-would-destroy/) [Ash Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-gray/) > [It was the damnedest thing, life. Once you decide exactly how things are going to go, something or someone comes along and messes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-armintrout/it-was-the-damnedest-thing-life-once-you-decide-exactly-how-things/) [Jennifer Armintrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-armintrout/) > [“People have their reasons for the damnedest things in my experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/people-have-their-reasons-for-the-damnedest-things-in-my-experience/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“That's the damnedest story I think I've ever heard. It's so unbelievable, I actually believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-denison/that-s-the-damnedest-story-i-think-i-ve-ever-heard-it-s-so/) [Janelle Denison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-denison/) > [I try my damnedest to quirk up anything that Im in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-roberts/i-try-my-damnedest-to-quirk-up-anything-that-im-in/) [Dallas Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-roberts/) > [You are a part of the world. You can only directly control yourself. The most surefire way to help others is to become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-a-part-of-the-world-you-can-only-directly-control-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best way to help the poor is not to become one of them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-way-to-help-the-poor-is-not-to-become-one-of-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best way to help someone is to help them realize how they can help them self, because sometimes you might not always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/the-best-way-to-help-someone-is-to-help-them-realize-how-they-can/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) ## More by William J. Brennan > [If our free society is to endure, those who govern must recognize human dignity and accept the enforcement of constitutional limitations on their power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-our-free-society-is-to-endure-those-who-govern-must-recognize/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open and that...may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/debate-on-public-issues-should-be-uninhibited-robust-and-wide-open/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The modern public school derived from a philosophy of freedom reflected in the First Amendment ... The non-sectarian or secular public school was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-modern-public-school-derived-from-a-philosophy-of-freedom/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [If a policeman must know the Constitution, then why not a planner?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/if-a-policeman-must-know-the-constitution-then-why-not-a-planner/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Our statute books gradually became laden with gross, stereotyped distinctions between the sexes and, indeed, throughout much of the 19th century the position of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/our-statute-books-gradually-became-laden-with-gross-stereotyped/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [We cannot let colorblindness become myopia which masks the reality that many "created equal" have been treated within our lifetimes as inferior both by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/we-cannot-let-colorblindness-become-myopia-which-masks-the-reality/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [After each perceived security crisis ended, the United States has remorsefully realized that the abrogation of civil liberties was unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/after-each-perceived-security-crisis-ended-the-united-states-has/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The door of the Free Exercise Clause stands tightly closed against any government regulation of religious beliefs as such. Government may neither compel affirmation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-door-of-the-free-exercise-clause-stands-tightly-closed-against/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [One area of law more than any other besmirches the constitutional vision of human dignity. . . . The barbaric death penalty violates our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/one-area-of-law-more-than-any-other-besmirches-the-constitutional/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [“Thus, we consider this case against the background of a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/thus-we-consider-this-case-against-the-background-of-a-profound/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/whether-to-the-average-person-applying-contemporary-community/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/our-amended-constitution-is-the-lodestar-for-our-aspirations-like/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The public schools are supported entirely, in most communities, by public funds-funds exacted not only from parents, nor alone from those who hold particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-public-schools-are-supported-entirely-in-most-communities-by/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [The genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/the-genius-of-the-constitution-rests-not-in-any-static-meaning-it/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) [Explore all 43 William J. Brennan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) ## More Clerks quotes > [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [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/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [My law clerks come from diverse backgrounds and points of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/my-law-clerks-come-from-diverse-backgrounds-and-points-of-view/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I do not rule Russia: ten thousand clerks do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-rule-russia-ten-thousand-clerks-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am proud that a majority of my law clerks have been women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/i-am-proud-that-a-majority-of-my-law-clerks-have-been-women/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [Corporate types love to pretend their life is exciting. The whispers, fist-pumping and animated hand gestures are all designed to lift our job description…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/corporate-types-love-to-pretend-their-life-is-exciting-the-whispers/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [I actually never acted on "Deadwood." I have meetings all the time where people look at my IMDb page and see that I played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-actually-never-acted-on-deadwood-i-have-meetings-all-the-time-where/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-key-to-success-is-to-get-out-into-the-store-and-listen-to-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [As a judge, I hire four law clerks each year. I look for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-kavanaugh/as-a-judge-i-hire-four-law-clerks-each-year-i-look-for-the-best/) [Brett Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-kavanaugh/) > [“They play like file clerks file.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kessler/they-play-like-file-clerks-file/) [Lauren Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kessler/) > [Turks have a dismissive phrase: he works like a clerk. I have turned this insult around: I am proud to say that I work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/turks-have-a-dismissive-phrase-he-works-like-a-clerk-i-have-turned/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/at-the-enchanted-metropolitan-twilight-i-felt-a-haunting-loneliness/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [But do not give it to a lawyer's clerk to write, for they use a legal hand that Satan himself will not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/but-do-not-give-it-to-a-lawyer-s-clerk-to-write-for-they-use-a-legal/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) [Browse all 184 Clerks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clerks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Clerks get into the damnedest wrangles--which is the way they help me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William J. 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