Quote by Cordell Hull

Never insult an alligator until you've crossed the river.

Never insult an alligator until you've crossed the river.

Summary

This quote is advising caution and pragmatism. It suggests that one should not underestimate or provoke a dangerous situation or individual until they have experienced it firsthand. By using the metaphor of an alligator and crossing a river, it conveys the idea that it's important to have direct knowledge or understanding of a potentially threatening situation before you make judgments or engage in provocations. It serves as a reminder to think twice before unnecessarily provoking or underestimating something or someone potentially harmful.

Topics

By Cordell Hull

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic securi

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but only

That the Party did not seek power for its own ends, but only for the good of the majority. That it sought power because men in the mass were frail cowardly creatures who could not endure liberty or face the truth, and must be ruled over and systematically deceived by others who were stronger than themselves. That the choice for mankind lay between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness was better.

Kindlehighlight

Leadership in today's world requires far more than a large s

Leadership in today's world requires far more than a large stock of gunboats and a hard fist at the conference table.

Hubert Humphrey

So I've broadened the fitness concept to make it one of mode

So I've broadened the fitness concept to make it one of moderation and balance.

Kenneth H. Cooper

We need not feel ashamed of flirting with the zodiac. The zo

We need not feel ashamed of flirting with the zodiac. The zodiac is well worth flirting with.

D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

I'm just trying to lead my own fucking life if I can manage

I'm just trying to lead my own fucking life if I can manage to find it in all this confusion.

All trials are trials of one's life, just as all sentences a

All trials are trials of one's life, just as all sentences are sentences of death.

Life Death Trials

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

If you only design menus that are essentially junk or fast f

If you only design menus that are essentially junk or fast food, the whole infrastructure supports junk.

Censorship, like charity, should begin at home, but, unlike

Censorship, like charity, should begin at home, but, unlike charity, it should end there.

Clare Boothe Luce

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two C

I've had a lot of very positive feedback about those stories

I've had a lot of very positive feedback about those stories, and seem to have struck upon something that most people feel. I can also tap dance, and don't know many other authors who can.