--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There may be people who like…" description: "\"“There may be people who like centipedes... Personally, I would regard such an individual with deep suspicion. I have just petted my cat: \"And how is t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb4/william-s-burroughs-528_centipedes_there-may-be-people-who-like-centipedes_2520314.jpg" --- # There may be people who like centipedes... Personally, I… ![“There may be people who like centipedes... Personally, I would regard such an individual with deep suspicion. I have just petted my cat: "And how is this good little cat beast?" Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede on his underbelly? "And here is my good big…” quote by William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb4/william-s-burroughs-528_centipedes_there-may-be-people-who-like-centipedes_2520314.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb4/william-s-burroughs-528_centipedes_there-may-be-people-who-like-centipedes_2520314.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb4/william-s-burroughs-528_centipedes_there-may-be-people-who-like-centipedes_2520314.jpg) > ““There may be people who like centipedes... Personally, I would regard such an individual with deep suspicion. I have just petted my cat: "And how is this good little cat beast?" Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede on his underbelly? "And here is my good big centipede!" If such a man exists, I say kill him without more ado. He is a traitor to the human race.”” [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker expresses extreme revulsion toward anyone who admires or handles centipedes, labeling them a threat to humanity. **In simple terms:** Disgust for centipede lovers; they are dangerous. Key Takeaway Reject or distance from those who embrace the grotesque. Themes revulsion other humanity Mood disgust anger Type political controversial When to use this quote - social interactions - online debates - personal boundaries - cultural taboos Key Concepts moral panic othering extremism Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever judge others for harmless oddities? - What defines a true threat to humanity? A Different Perspective The hyperbolic threat may alienate legitimate dissent or curiosity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Centipedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centipedes/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) ## Related quotes > [Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede I have ever seen? And here is my good big centipede!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/now-what-sort-of-man-or-woman-or-monster-would-stroke-a-centipede-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I don't go into hysterics or anything, but I look around for something to smash it with. I used to live out in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-go-into-hysterics-or-anything-but-i-look-around-for-something/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [The centipede has rhythm and flow in its hundred legs precisely because it does not have to think about it. Consider this the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/the-centipede-has-rhythm-and-flow-in-its-hundred-legs-precisely/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [If your stature were an illness, it seems that the Centipede dispenses medicine to make you well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheshire-cat/if-your-stature-were-an-illness-it-seems-that-the-centipede-dispenses/) [Cheshire Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheshire-cat/) > [I'm not a big fan of spiders, rats, especially if they're like - I got up one morning on a holiday recently, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-spiders-rats-especially-if-they-re-like-i-got-up/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [“After the shot he collapsed on the bed and lay there inert, but something was stirring in his spine from neck to the tail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-the-shot-he-collapsed-on-the-bed-and-lay-there-inert-but/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“They say only love can create, so who the fuck could love up a centipede? He's got more love in him than I got.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/they-say-only-love-can-create-so-who-the-fuck-could-love-up-a/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“I think of that, too: her mind. Her brain, all those coils, and her thoughts shuttling through those coils like fast, frantic centipedes. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-think-of-that-too-her-mind-her-brain-all-those-coils-and-her-2/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I knowed a man in Paphlagonia who'd swallow a live snake every morning, when he got up. He used to say, he was certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-knowed-a-man-in-paphlagonia-who-d-swallow-a-live-snake-every/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [the more i live, the more i realize what strange creatures human beings are. some of them might just as well have a hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-live-the-more-i-realize-what-strange-creatures-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Apparently Matts been busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/apparently-matts-been-busier-than-a-centipede-at-a-toe-counting/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [I'm afraid of coaching, of writer's classes, of writer's magazines, of books on how to write. They give me centipede trouble - you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-m-afraid-of-coaching-of-writer-s-classes-of-writer-s-magazines-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It wont be long now it wont be long man is making deserts of the earth it wont be long now before man will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/it-wont-be-long-now-it-wont-be-long-man-is-making-deserts-of-the/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Some people come by the name of genius in the same way that certain insects come by the name of centipede -- not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-come-by-the-name-of-genius-in-the-same-way-that-certain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) ## More by William S. Burroughs > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Well as, one judge said to the other, 'Be just and if you can't be just be arbitrary.' Regret cannot observe customary obscenities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/well-as-one-judge-said-to-the-other-be-just-and-if-you-can-t-be-just/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-one-look-at-this-planet-any-visitor-from-outer-space-would-say/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-seven-days-she-lay-in-bed-looking-sullenly-at-the-ceiling-as/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When you stop growing you start dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-you-stop-growing-you-start-dying/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Life is a cutup. And to pretend that you write or paint in a timeless vacuum is just simply . . . not .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/life-is-a-cutup-and-to-pretend-that-you-write-or-paint-in-a-timeless/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When all lies, deceit, pretense is stripped away, what remains? The truth of a painting, or a book or a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-all-lies-deceit-pretense-is-stripped-away-what-remains-the-truth/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There is no final enough of wisdom, experience - any fucking thing. No Holy Grail, No Final Satori, no solution. Just conflict. Only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-is-no-final-enough-of-wisdom-experience-any-fucking-thing-no/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-john-dillinger-in-hope-he-is-still-alive-thanksgiving-day/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need a good bedside manner with doctors or you will get nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-need-a-good-bedside-manner-with-doctors-or-you-will-get-nowhere/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-couldn-t-be-a-society-of-people-who-didn-t-dream-they-d-be-dead/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-prefer-cats-to-people-for-the-most-part-most-people-aren-t-cute-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“It is not the intensity but the duration of pain that breaks the will to resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/it-is-not-the-intensity-but-the-duration-of-pain-that-breaks-the-will/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Explore all 484 William S. Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More Centipedes quotes > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [I'm not a big fan of spiders, rats, especially if they're like - I got up one morning on a holiday recently, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-spiders-rats-especially-if-they-re-like-i-got-up/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [Some people come by the name of genius in the same way that certain insects come by the name of centipede -- not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-come-by-the-name-of-genius-in-the-same-way-that-certain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If your stature were an illness, it seems that the Centipede dispenses medicine to make you well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheshire-cat/if-your-stature-were-an-illness-it-seems-that-the-centipede-dispenses/) [Cheshire Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheshire-cat/) > [I don't go into hysterics or anything, but I look around for something to smash it with. I used to live out in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-go-into-hysterics-or-anything-but-i-look-around-for-something/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede I have ever seen? And here is my good big centipede!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/now-what-sort-of-man-or-woman-or-monster-would-stroke-a-centipede-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [It wont be long now it wont be long man is making deserts of the earth it wont be long now before man will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/it-wont-be-long-now-it-wont-be-long-man-is-making-deserts-of-the/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [I'm afraid of coaching, of writer's classes, of writer's magazines, of books on how to write. They give me centipede trouble - you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-m-afraid-of-coaching-of-writer-s-classes-of-writer-s-magazines-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Apparently Matts been busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-teti/apparently-matts-been-busier-than-a-centipede-at-a-toe-counting/) [Joe Teti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-teti/) > [the more i live, the more i realize what strange creatures human beings are. some of them might just as well have a hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-live-the-more-i-realize-what-strange-creatures-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I knowed a man in Paphlagonia who'd swallow a live snake every morning, when he got up. He used to say, he was certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-knowed-a-man-in-paphlagonia-who-d-swallow-a-live-snake-every/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“I think of that, too: her mind. Her brain, all those coils, and her thoughts shuttling through those coils like fast, frantic centipedes. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-think-of-that-too-her-mind-her-brain-all-those-coils-and-her-2/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [The best thing would be to break your neck, but you'd probably just break your leg and then you couldn't do a thing. You'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-best-thing-would-be-to-break-your-neck-but-you-d-probably-just/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The centipede has rhythm and flow in its hundred legs precisely because it does not have to think about it. Consider this the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/the-centipede-has-rhythm-and-flow-in-its-hundred-legs-precisely/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [I was sorry to see the News of the World go down, I think it was a great campaigning newspaper. Who can forget the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-lee/i-was-sorry-to-see-the-news-of-the-world-go-down-i-think-it-was-a/) [Stewart Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-lee/) [Browse all 17 Centipedes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centipedes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There may be people who like centipedes... Personally, I would regard such an individual with deep suspicion. I have just petted my cat: \"And how is this good little cat beast?\" Now what sort of man or woman or monster would stroke a centipede on his underbelly? \"And here is my good big centipede!\" If such a man exists, I say kill him without more ado. He is a traitor to the human race.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William S. 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