This was too good not to pass along. No, I haven’t run it past Snopes; it really doesn’t matter to me if the quotes were ever truly uttered by those they’re attributed to… they’re still worth pondering. Thanks David, for sharing!
“A modest little person, with much to be modest about” — Winston Churchill
“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.”
— Clarence Darrow
“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.”
— William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
“Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?”
— Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
“He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.” — Abraham Lincoln
“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” — Groucho Marx
“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” — Mark Twain
“He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends. — Oscar Wilde
“I enclose two tickets to the first night of my new play;Â bring a friend… if you have one.”
— George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
“Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one.” — Winston Churchill, in response.
“He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” — John Bright
“I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.” — Irvin S. Cobb
“He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” — Billy Wilder
“He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.” — Samuel Johnson
“He had delusions of adequacy.” — Walter Kerr
“There’s nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won’t cure.” — Jack E. Leonard
“They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.” — Thomas Brackett Reed
“In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.” — Charles Count Talleyrand
“He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.” — Forrest Tucker
“Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” — Mark Twain
“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” — Mae West
Fits a lot of people I know.
Several of the quotes reminded me of some of the folks who contribute to the Oak Ridger Message Board.
The Lincoln quote is my favorite. I’m sure to plagiarize it someday soon.
Oh, and the Thomas Reed quote put me in mind of Terry Frank.
Have to agree with you on that one, Joel.