sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me

Meanings:

• 1.

  GlobalProverbialInformal
  • A conventional saying asserting that physical injuries can cause real harm while verbal insults should be ignored because they cannot inflict physical damage; used to encourage resilience against name‑calling.

• 2.

  GlobalInformalIronic
  • Used sarcastically or ironically to acknowledge that words can cause emotional or psychological harm, or to dismiss another person's expressed emotional hurt as insincere.