If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

17 years ago

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." - Harry S Truman

Has that quote always been at the top of the page, or did it just appear today? If it's always been there, maybe it's fitting that I didn't see it until today.

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Comments (8)

maddiemom6
17 years ago
Always been there as far as I know... why are you getting out?

Maddie
vicki_ca
Original Author
17 years ago
Getting out? Not me! :-)

Funny, I never noticed the quote before.
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cupofkindness
17 years ago
That is funny. The quote has been there for years. What historical event prompted Truman to say that? Was it regarding the war?
bill_vincent
17 years ago
If I'm not mistaken, didn't have to do with an incident during the election campaign?
fairegold
17 years ago
from a google serach:

Meaning

Don't persist with a task if the pressure of it is too much for you. The implication being that, if you can't cope, you should leave the work to someone who can.

Origin

trumanThis is widely reported as being coined by US President Harry S. Truman. That's almost correct, but in fact Truman was known to have used it at least as early as 1942 - before becoming president. Here's a citation from an Idaho newspaper, the 'Soda Springs Sun', from July that year:

"Favorite rejoinder of Senator Harry S. Truman, when a member of his war contracts investigating committee objects to his strenuous pace: 'If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen'."

He used a version slightly nearer the one most often used nowadays, in 1949, after becoming president, when warning his staff not to concern themselves over criticism about their appointments:

"I'll stand by [you] but if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Here is a link that might be useful: phrases
vicki_ca
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for that, Fairegold. I did a google search earlier, but was too impatient to wade through all of the quotation websites and miscellaneous sites hoping to find the original context(s) in which it was said.

Loved the quote in your link about the dumb son of a bi*ch generals. It's not so much that I agree with the statement, but can you imagine a president or head of state saying something along those lines in today's politically correct world? Now, people always "resign" from their posts.
talley_sue_nyc
17 years ago
he sure as heck didn't invent that phrase! I'm sure it's been in use for thousands of years.

He *popularized* it, of course.

I've always been a Truman fan (comes partly from my brothers calling me "Sally Truman," instead of "Talley Sue" or "Salley Tue")

He also said, "if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog."

and what a great link!

see the other neat one I found below.

Wow, was Truman quotable!

here's one appropriate for the kitchens forum:
"All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it"

Here is a link that might be useful: more quotes from Harry
mahatmacat1
17 years ago
t.s., that would be a better motto for this forum than the "can't stand the heat" one, IMO...