--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They were like curmudgeonly old friends…" description: "\"“They were like curmudgeonly old friends who would never admit that they liked me yet came round to see me all the time. The”\" — Yann Martel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/yann-martel-395_friendship_they-were-like-curmudgeonly-old-friends_2924956.jpg" --- # They were like curmudgeonly old friends who would never… ![“They were like curmudgeonly old friends who would never admit that they liked me yet came round to see me all the time. The” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/yann-martel-395_friendship_they-were-like-curmudgeonly-old-friends_2924956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/yann-martel-395_friendship_they-were-like-curmudgeonly-old-friends_2924956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/yann-martel-395_friendship_they-were-like-curmudgeonly-old-friends_2924956.jpg) > ““They were like curmudgeonly old friends who would never admit that they liked me yet came round to see me all the time. The”” [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A description of acquaintances who hide affection behind gruffness, yet consistently show up. **In simple terms:** Friends may act distant but still care. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden support in relationships. Themes friendship vulnerability social masks Mood reflective warm Type observational relational When to use this quote - social gatherings - loneliness - new friendships Key Concepts psychology human connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when someone seems unfriendly but is present? - What signals indicate hidden care? A Different Perspective People may misinterpret aloof behavior as dislike. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curmudgeonly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curmudgeonly-3468143/) [Curmudgeonly Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curmudgeonly-old-3707299/) [Friends Admit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-admit-4281182/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Like Curmudgeonly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-curmudgeonly-4281181/) [Old friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friends/) ## Related quotes > [I don't like big events and crowded areas. I'm almost a curmudgeonly old man in that aspect. I've been like that forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segura/i-don-t-like-big-events-and-crowded-areas-i-m-almost-a-curmudgeonly/) [Tom Segura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segura/) > [“I got to get some guy friends. Even though i have to admit, you two are better to look at." -Seth-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-moon/i-got-to-get-some-guy-friends-even-though-i-have-to-admit-you-two-are/) [Larissa Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-moon/) > [At least I have some friends who admit they are bad friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-least-i-have-some-friends-who-admit-they-are-bad-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am kind of a curmudgeonly person, so I don't gravitate to groups or traditions, which is probably just pretentious of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/i-am-kind-of-a-curmudgeonly-person-so-i-don-t-gravitate-to-groups-or/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [I'm not the lovable, wonderful, tenderhearted grandfather that you read about in books. I'm grouchy and curmudgeonly, and I have a lot of rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/i-m-not-the-lovable-wonderful-tenderhearted-grandfather-that-you-read/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [I continue to shun, in a very curmudgeonly fashion, things like Twitter and Facebook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/i-continue-to-shun-in-a-very-curmudgeonly-fashion-things-like-twitter/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [Sometimes I'm crotchety, angry, curmudgeonly - you know, I do have that side. I don't always show it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-macchio/sometimes-i-m-crotchety-angry-curmudgeonly-you-know-i-do-have-that/) [Ralph Macchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-macchio/) > [I am a little curmudgeonly about new media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cho/i-am-a-little-curmudgeonly-about-new-media/) [John Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cho/) > [“Defend myself? I cannot defend the verbal repressions of a boy. A curmudgeonly, cantankerous, ill-tempered, counterfeit boy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-weise/defend-myself-i-cannot-defend-the-verbal-repressions-of-a-boy-a/) [Jamie Weise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-weise/) > [Your heart and my heart are very, very old friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-heart-and-my-heart-are-very-very-old-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [“I visited my old haunt, but somehow without all my old friends there with me, the cemetery just wasn’t the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-visited-my-old-haunt-but-somehow-without-all-my-old-friends-there/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/certain-flaws-are-necessary-for-the-whole-it-would-seem-strange-if/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) ## More by Yann Martel > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The word isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-word-isn-t-just-the-way-it-is-it-is-how-we-understand-it-no-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/remember-that-your-days-on-this-earth-are-counted-and-you-might-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I must say a word about fear. It's is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-must-say-a-word-about-fear-it-s-is-life-s-only-true-opponent-only/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [High calls low and low calls high. I tell you, if you were in such dire straits as I was, you too would elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/high-calls-low-and-low-calls-high-i-tell-you-if-you-were-in-such-dire/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Or rather, since Christians are so fond of capital letters, a Story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/or-rather-since-christians-are-so-fond-of-capital-letters-a-story/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Progress is unstoppable. It is a drumbeat to which we must all march. Technology helps and good ideas spread - these are two laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/progress-is-unstoppable-it-is-a-drumbeat-to-which-we-must-all-march/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-are-always-those-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-defend-god-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I never had problems with my fellow scientists. Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-never-had-problems-with-my-fellow-scientists-scientists-are-a/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out. The main battlefield for good is not the open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/for-evil-in-the-open-is-but-evil-from-within-that-has-been-let-out/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Books are something social - a writer speaking to a reader - so I think making the reading of a book the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/books-are-something-social-a-writer-speaking-to-a-reader-so-i-think/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/nothing-beats-reason-for-keeping-tigers-away-but-be-excessively/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Uvek ima onih koji uzmu za pravo da brane Boga, kao da je Poslednja stvarnost, kao da je temeljni ram postojanja nešto slabašno i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/uvek-ima-onih-koji-uzmu-za-pravo-da-brane-boga-kao-da-je-poslednja/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity- its envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-reason-death-sticks-so-closely-to-life-isn-t-biological-necessity/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) [Explore all 570 Yann Martel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) [Maureen Andeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-andeson/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They were like curmudgeonly old friends who would never admit that they liked me yet came round to see me all the time. 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