Meanings of “Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones”
The proverb “sticks and stones may break my bones” means a fact that if you are attacked by someone, you will only go through physical pain. Eventually, you can be healed and the body becomes whole, but it will not affect your personality or bravery. On the contrary, the damage done by verbal abuse and hurtful words is always irreparable. The phrase is also used to encourage anyone to think of hurtful words as sticks and stones.
Origin of “Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones”
The proverb “sticks and stones may break my bones” is said to have its initial traces in 1844, in Alexander William Kinglake’s book where it is used as “golden sticks and stones.” Later, it was cited in The Christian Recorder of March published in 1862, where it was stated as; “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me.”
It also appeared in 1872, in Mrs. George Cupples’s piece, Tappy’s Chicks: and Other Links Between Nature and Human Nature, where it is stated as; “Sticks and stones may break my bones / But names will never harm me.”
Examples from Literature
Example #1
Sticks And Stones by Ruby Redfort
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can also hurt me.
Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me.
Slant and curved the word-swords fall, it pierces and sticks inside me.
Bats and bricks may ache through bones, but words can mortify me.
Pain from words has left its’ scar, on mind and hear that’s tender.
Cuts and bruises have not healed, it’s words that I remember.”
This poem explains the meanings of this proverb and says that stones and bricks can hurt our body but words full of hatred chase the people like ghosts. The poet further highlights the impact of such words that they pierce and stick inside a person. Moreover, sticks and bats may crack bones but sour words humiliate people. He adds pain from words leaves a permanent scar on someone’s mind and heart.
Example #2
From, Moab is My Washpot by Stephen Fry
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me. Bones mend and became actually stronger in the very place that were broken and where they have knitted up; mental wounds can grind and ooze for decades and be re-opened by the quietest whisper.”
Written by Stephen Fry, this piece highlights the true meaning of this proverb. The speaker highlights the fact that sticks and stones surely hurt someone physically and that someone eventually gets better and stronger after some time. However, mental wounds stay for decades and keep burning in silence.
Example #3
From Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth: the Guide to Sustainable Shire Living by Steve Bivans
“The power of words to deceive is a danger far exceeding any we might encounter from physical weapons. Sticks and bones can break bones! But words can lead world into ruin.”
This twentieth-century piece uses this proverb in the metaphorical sense. The speaker here talks about the damaging impact of hateful words. To her, the wounds we receive from words leave an irreparable impact on our minds, while sticks and stones only harm our body that can be healed.
Example #4
Sticks and Stones by Jason Daniels
Sticks and stones
May break my bones,
But names will
Never hurt me.Words are words,
No harm done.
They last but a second
And they don’t hurt a bit.Sticks and stones
May break my bones,
But names will
Never kill me.Those words still sting,
Longest second of my life,
The pain is there
And gone unnoticed by the eye.Sticks and stones
May break my bones,
But names will
Always hurt me.
The above stanzas explain the meanings of this proverb in a different way. Initially, the speaker tries to develop the idea that sticks and stones may break bones, but words will leave no impact on him. He says that words are simply words; they don’t have the power to hunt, tear, or tease someone’s heart and soul. However, in the latter part of the poem, the speaker shifts the narrative and accepts the harmful impacts of unpleasant words.
Example in Sentences
Example #1: “I never take the hater’s comments seriously because sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Example #2: “The new induction was badly affected by his class fellow’s bullying, as sticks and stones may break bones but words always hurt us.”
Example #3: “Nobody referred to Mr. Collins to ask for new plans in the company because sticks and stones may break bones, but words kill us.”
Example #4: “There was an unpleasant scene in the last year’s squash competition in which James Willthrope was subjected to hatred, criticism, and bullying. He failed to recover the loss because sticks and stones may break the bones, but words always hurt us.”
Example #5: “After a long pause, Clara stood up in front of the class and she was not going to let a bully define her. Sticks and stone may break my bones, she said but I will not let the words of a bully affect me either.”