--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is…" description: "\"“The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is the shit.”\" — Zadie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png" --- # The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is the shit. ![“The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is the shit.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png) > ““The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is the shit.”” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perspective shifts when focus changes from problem to solution. **In simple terms:** Change focus to solve. Key Takeaway Reframe issues creatively. Themes perspective solution creativity Mood witty thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - team brainstorming - personal dilemmas - social commentary Key Concepts Cognitive reframing humor Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change your view of problems? - When is reframing insufficient? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay seriousness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ## Related quotes > [“The shit is \*not\* the shit (this was Mo's mantra,) the \*pigeon\* is the shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/the-shit-is-not-the-shit-this-was-mo-s-mantra-the-pigeon-is-the-shit/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Oh shit. Shit taking a shit on a shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/oh-shit-shit-taking-a-shit-on-a-shit/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [Never talk shit if you can't back shit up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/never-talk-shit-if-you-can-t-back-shit-up/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [When I was on that US shit you was on that YOU shit, now I'm on my ME shit, and you trying to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teady/when-i-was-on-that-us-shit-you-was-on-that-you-shit-now-i-m-on-my-me/) $Teady > [“Holy shit!" "Since when is shit holy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-klein/holy-shit-since-when-is-shit-holy/) [Katie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-klein/) > [“in with cinders and dry garbage. The sun is setting fast. The colors die. They shift from purple to dried blood, from nacre to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-with-cinders-and-dry-garbage-the-sun-is-setting-fast-the-colors/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's funny cause, you think you're the shit. You're not. You're shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-funny-cause-you-think-you-re-the-shit-you-re-not-you-re-shit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“him. Shit. Shit. Shit. I want him.   \*\*\*   We've been on”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-elvira/him-shit-shit-shit-i-want-him-we-ve-been-on/) [Justine Elvira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-elvira/) > [“oh shit it's shit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/oh-shit-it-s-shit/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Damn you still talking shit that that shit I don't like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-smileyy/damn-you-still-talking-shit-that-that-shit-i-don-t-like/) Lil Smileyy > [The same shit you shit I m go let you sniff it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-kim-2/the-same-shit-you-shit-i-m-go-let-you-sniff-it/) [Lil Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-kim-2/) > [“So, you are happy to be a pigeon?” “Maybe so. But at least a pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-you-are-happy-to-be-a-pigeon-maybe-so-but-at-least-a-pigeon-does/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [If I were a bird, you'd be the first person I'd shit on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-hashim/if-i-were-a-bird-you-d-be-the-first-person-i-d-shit-on/) [Ahmed Hashim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-hashim/) > [If I was a bird I would know who to shit on first](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/if-i-was-a-bird-i-would-know-who-to-shit-on-first/) Author Name > [You have to accept the fact that sometimes you are the pigeon, and sometimes you are the statue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-chabrol/you-have-to-accept-the-fact-that-sometimes-you-are-the-pigeon-and/) [Claude Chabrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-chabrol/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. 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If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is the shit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zadie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-the-shit/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-the-shit/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/zadie-smith-584_bird_the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-t_703253.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The shit is not the shit, the pigeon is the shit.” — Zadie Smith", "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": "Zadie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The shit is not the shit,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-the-shit/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/the-shit-is-not-the-shit-the-pigeon-is-the-shit/#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 } } ] } ```