--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Billy's native arrogance might well have…" description: "\"“Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of miffed genes, then come to splendid definition through the tests to which a street like Broadw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png" --- # Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of… ![“Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of miffed genes, then come to splendid definition through the tests to which a street like Broadway puts a young man on the make: tests designed to refine a breed, enforce a code, exclude all simps and gumps, and deliver into the city's life a…” quote by William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png) > ““Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of miffed genes, then come to splendid definition through the tests to which a street like Broadway puts a young man on the make: tests designed to refine a breed, enforce a code, exclude all simps and gumps, and deliver into the city's life a man worthy of functioning in this age of nocturnal supremacy. Men like Billy Phelan, forged in the brass of Broadway, send, in the time of their splendor, telegraphic statements of mission: I, you bums, am a winner. And that message, however devoid of Christ-like other-cheekery, dooms the faint-hearted Scottys of the night, who must sludge along, never knowing how it feels to spill over with the small change of sassiness, how it feels to leave the spillover on the floor, more where that came from, pal. Leave it for the sweeper.”” [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A street that like Broadway shapes a man’s confidence into a bold, unapologetic identity, demanding resilience and a fierce self‑assertion in a harsh urban world. **In simple terms:** Broadway forces a man to become bold and unapologetic. Key Takeaway Embrace confidence, own your edge. Themes confidence urban life identity resilience assertion Mood defiant gritty proud Type literary character study When to use this quote - career ambition - street culture - personal branding - overcoming insecurity Key Concepts masculinity self‑construction social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape confidence? - When does boldness become arrogance? A Different Perspective Confidence can alienate those who lack similar boldness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1920s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1920s-371/) [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Billy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billy/) [Billy Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billy-phelan-6085265/) [Gambling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gambling/) [Hustling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hustling/) [Jazz-age-stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-age-stories-96385/) [Like Billy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-billy-496616/) [Like Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-broadway-528327/) [Pool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pool/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [“I live in a house over there on the Island, and in that house there is a man waiting for me. When he drove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-live-in-a-house-over-there-on-the-island-and-in-that-house-there-is/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He cared only about people; he was scarcely conscious of places except for their weather, until they had been invested with color by tangible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-cared-only-about-people-he-was-scarcely-conscious-of-places-except/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative temperament”—it was an extraordinary gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-responsiveness-had-nothing-to-do-with-that-flabby/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [When you are the avatar for the writer/director, a lot of times, I just trusted him. If he had a choice, even if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/when-you-are-the-avatar-for-the-writer-director-a-lot-of-times-i-just/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [That's happened a couple times: Billy Joel. It was just, "You sound like Billy Joel." And I get really upset about that. No offense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-goldsmith/that-s-happened-a-couple-times-billy-joel-it-was-just-you-sound-like/) [Taylor Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-goldsmith/) > [“You're not like anyone else, Billy - that's what's the matter with you," Donna said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-not-like-anyone-else-billy-that-s-what-s-the-matter-with-you/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I want to play someone like Billy the Kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-keoghan/i-want-to-play-someone-like-billy-the-kid/) [Barry Keoghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-keoghan/) > [“It’s rainin’ like Billy-be-damned out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-torode/it-s-rainin-like-billy-be-damned-out-there/) [Sam Torode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-torode/) > [When you get to heaven God won't ask you why you weren't more like Billy Graham. He may ask you why you weren't more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/when-you-get-to-heaven-god-won-t-ask-you-why-you-weren-t-more-like/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I like Billy Beane for the fact that he - his idiosyncrasies, that he can't watch the games without getting too emotional, that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/i-like-billy-beane-for-the-fact-that-he-his-idiosyncrasies-that-he/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [Dylan is so brilliant. To me, he makes William Shakespeare look like Billy Joel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/dylan-is-so-brilliant-to-me-he-makes-william-shakespeare-look-like/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [With a haircut like that and a face like that, it looks like Billy Ray Cyrus went and had sex with a retarded hyena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/with-a-haircut-like-that-and-a-face-like-that-it-looks-like-billy-ray/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [I do not see anybody in the world train like Billy Blanks. The man is in great shape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toney/i-do-not-see-anybody-in-the-world-train-like-billy-blanks-the-man-is/) [James Toney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toney/) > [You know how a dog and his owner start to look alike after a while? Well, that's like me and Billy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/you-know-how-a-dog-and-his-owner-start-to-look-alike-after-a-while/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [“Sometimes you'll see a story about a kid like Billy on the news and wonder how nobody stepped in, how nobody saw what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wade/sometimes-you-ll-see-a-story-about-a-kid-like-billy-on-the-news-and/) [Tobias Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wade/) ## More by William Kennedy > [Everyone is interesting except the narrator in a first-person story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/everyone-is-interesting-except-the-narrator-in-a-first-person-story/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [Aspiring writers should read the entire canon of literature that precedes them, back to the Greeks, up to the current issue of The Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/aspiring-writers-should-read-the-entire-canon-of-literature-that/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“In the years after the death of Petrus, Hillegond had refused all offers of marriage, certain that her knowledge of men, despite her uncountable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/in-the-years-after-the-death-of-petrus-hillegond-had-refused-all/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [There's only a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/there-s-only-a-short-walk-from-the-hallelujah-to-the-hoot/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [Without a sense of place the work is often reduced to a cry of voices in empty rooms, a literature of the self, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/without-a-sense-of-place-the-work-is-often-reduced-to-a-cry-of-voices/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [Anger makes people stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/anger-makes-people-stupid/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“Love, is always insufficient, always a lie. Love, you are the clean shit of my soul. Stupid love, silly love. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/love-is-always-insufficient-always-a-lie-love-you-are-the-clean-shit/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [Well-lit streets discourage sin, but don't overdo it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/well-lit-streets-discourage-sin-but-don-t-overdo-it/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [We are only possible as what happened to us yesterday. We all change as well move](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/we-are-only-possible-as-what-happened-to-us-yesterday-we-all-change/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“He would not chance arrest by crawling into a corner of one of the old houses on Lower Broadway where the cops swept through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/he-would-not-chance-arrest-by-crawling-into-a-corner-of-one-of-the/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“But after awhile you stand up, wipe the frost out of your ear, go someplace to get warm, bum a nickel for coffee, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/but-after-awhile-you-stand-up-wipe-the-frost-out-of-your-ear-go/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“Why was it that suicide kept rising up in Francis' mind? Wake up in the weeds outside Pittsburgh, half frozen over, too cold to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/why-was-it-that-suicide-kept-rising-up-in-francis-mind-wake-up-in-the/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“One never knows the potential within the human breast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/one-never-knows-the-potential-within-the-human-breast/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“...the only brotherhood they belonged to was the one that asked that enduring question: How do I get through the next twenty minutes? They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/the-only-brotherhood-they-belonged-to-was-the-one-that-asked-that/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [“Mi culpa es todo lo que me queda. Si la pierdo, no habré significado nada, no habré hecho nada, no habré sido nada.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/mi-culpa-es-todo-lo-que-me-queda-si-la-pierdo-no-habr-significado/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) [Explore all 22 William Kennedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) ## More 1920s quotes > [“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-music-from-my-neighbor-s-house-through-the-summer-nights-in/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“The prosecutor uttered the party line that would distinguish revue from burlesque for the next thirty years. "The difference is movement. On Broadway, unadorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/the-prosecutor-uttered-the-party-line-that-would-distinguish-revue/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [“Well, ha-jolly-ha to YOU, young Stiffie-- with knobs on!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/well-ha-jolly-ha-to-you-young-stiffie-with-knobs-on/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“As I’ve said before, “the Mod generation”, contrary to popular belief, was not born in even 1958, but in the 1920s after a steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/as-i-ve-said-before-the-mod-generation-contrary-to-popular-belief-was/) [Ruadhán J. McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/) > [The United States created the best popular songs that were ever written, and from the 1920s to the 1940s, it was a renaissance period.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/the-united-states-created-the-best-popular-songs-that-were-ever/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [In the course of the 1920s and 1930s, great progress was made in the study of the intermediary reactions by which sugar is anaerobically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-adolf-krebs/in-the-course-of-the-1920s-and-1930s-great-progress-was-made-in-the/) [Hans Adolf Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-adolf-krebs/) > [Mother's interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/mother-s-interest-in-contemporary-american-artists-emerged-during-the/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [“In the 1920s, Jim Crow Mississippi was, in all facets of society, a kleptocracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/in-the-1920s-jim-crow-mississippi-was-in-all-facets-of-society-a/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“How paltry are the traces left behind by a life, even one concentrated around those supposed things of permanence called words. We spend our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnton/how-paltry-are-the-traces-left-behind-by-a-life-even-one-concentrated/) [john darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnton/) > [If I could have lived as an actress in any period, it would have been the 1920s - I would have loved to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/if-i-could-have-lived-as-an-actress-in-any-period-it-would-have-been/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [I've loved Alfred Cortot's playing from an early age, and I never tire of hearing his recordings, particularly Chopin and Schumann from the 1920s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-ve-loved-alfred-cortot-s-playing-from-an-early-age-and-i-never-tire/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [“The 1920s was a great time for reading altogether—very possibly the peak decade for reading in American life. Soon it would be overtaken by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-1920s-was-a-great-time-for-reading-altogether-very-possibly-the/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [France has had socialist presidents on and off since the 1920s, and it remains a free country. Socialists have ruled in many South American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/france-has-had-socialist-presidents-on-and-off-since-the-1920s-and-it/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theory-when-i-was-growing-up-in/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) [Browse all 72 1920s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1920s-371/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of miffed genes, then come to splendid definition through the tests to which a street like Broadway puts a young man on the make: tests designed to refine a breed, enforce a code, exclude all simps and gumps, and deliver into the city's life a man worthy of functioning in this age of nocturnal supremacy. Men like Billy Phelan, forged in the brass of Broadway, send, in the time of their splendor, telegraphic statements of mission: I, you bums, am a winner. And that message, however devoid of Christ-like other-cheekery, dooms the faint-hearted Scottys of the night, who must sludge along, never knowing how it feels to spill over with the small change of sassiness, how it feels to leave the spillover on the floor, more where that came from, pal. Leave it for the sweeper.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Kennedy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have-been-a-gift-of-miffed-genes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1920s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have-been-a-gift-of-miffed-genes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of miffed genes, then come to splendid definition…” — William Kennedy", "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 Kennedy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Billy's native arrogance might well have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have-been-a-gift-of-miffed-genes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have-been-a-gift-of-miffed-genes/#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 } } ] } ```