The Oxford dictionary of modern quotations (67 page)

He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there

The landlord's black-eyed daughter,

Bess, the landlord's daughter,

Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Forty Singing Seamen and Other Poems (1907) "The Highwayman"

Look for me by moonlight;

Watch for me by moonlight;

I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!

Forty Singing Seamen and Other Poems (1907) "The Highwayman"

14.27 Bill Nye (Edgar Wilson Nye) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The late Bill Nye once said, "I have been told that Wagner's music is

better than it sounds."

Mark Twain Autobiography (1924) vol. 1, p. 338

15.0 O =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

15.1 Captain Lawrence Oates =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1880-1912

I am just going outside and may be some time.

Last words, quoted in R. F. Scott Diary 16-17 Mar. 1912, in Last

Expedition (1913) p. 593

15.2 Edna O'Brien =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1932-

August is a wicked month.

Title of novel (1965)

The vote, I thought, means nothing to women. We should be armed.

In Erica Jong Fear of Flying (1973) ch. 16

Oh, God, who does not exist, you hate women, otherwise you'd have made

them different.

Girls in their Married Bliss (1964) ch. 10

15.3 Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan or O Nuallain) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1911-1966

The Pooka MacPhellimey, a member of the devil class, sat in his hut in the

middle of a firwood meditating on the nature of the numerals and

segregating in his mind the odd ones from the even.

At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) ch. 1

The conclusion of your syllogism, I said lightly, is fallacious, being

based upon licensed premises.

At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) ch. 1

A pint of plain is your only man.

At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) "The Workman's Friend"

It is not that I half knew my mother. I knew half of her: the lower

half--her lap, legs, feet, her hands and wrists as she bent forward.

The Hard Life (1961) p. 11

People who spend most of their natural lives riding iron bicycles over the

rocky roadsteads of this parish get their personalities mixed up with the

personalities of their bicycles as a result of the interchanging of the

atoms of each of them and you would be surprised at the number of people

in these parts who nearly are half people and half bicycles.

The Third Policeman (1967) p. 85

15.4 Sean O'Casey =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1884-1964

He's an oul' butty o' mine--oh, he's a darlin' man, a daarlin' man.

Juno and the Paycock (1925) act 1

The whole worl's in a state o' chassis!

Juno and the Paycock (1925) act 1

I often looked up at the sky an' assed meself the question--what is the

stars, what is the stars?

Juno and the Paycock (1925) act 1

Sacred Heart of the Crucified Jesus, take our hearts o' stone...an' give

us hearts o' flesh!...Take away this murdherin' hate...an' give us Thine

own eternal love!

Juno and the Paycock (1925) act 2

The Polis as Polis, in this city, is Null an' Void!

Juno and the Paycock (1925) act 3

When one has reached 81...one likes to sit back and let the world turn by

itself, without trying to push it.

New York Times 25 Sept. 1960, pt. 2, p. 3

There's no reason to bring religion into it. I think we ought to have as

great a regard for religion as we can, so as to keep it out of as many

things as possible.

The Plough and the Stars (1926) act 1

It's my rule never to lose me temper till it would be dethrimental to keep

it.

The Plough and the Stars (1926) act 2

English literature's performing flea [P. G. Wodehouse].

In P. G. Wodehouse Performing Flea (1953) p. 217

15.5 Edwin O'Connor =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1918-1968

The last hurrah.

Title of novel (1956)

15.6 Se�n O'Faol�in =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1900-

Stories, like whiskey, must be allowed to mature in the cask.

Atlantic Monthly Dec. 1956, p. 76

15.7 David Ogilvy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1911-

The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence

if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade

her to buy anything.

Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963) ch. 5

15.8 Geoffrey O'Hara =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1882-1967

K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy,

You're the only g-g-g-girl that I adore;--

When the m-m-m-moon shines,

Over the cow shed,

I'll be waiting at the k-k-k-kitchen door.

K-K-K-Katy (1918 song)

15.9 John O'Hara =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1905-1970

George [Gershwin] died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe that

if I don't want to.

Newsweek 15 July 1940, p. 34

15.10 Patrick O'Keefe =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1872-1934

Say it with flowers.

Slogan for the Society of American Florists, in Florists' Exchange 15 Dec.

1917, p. 1268

15.11 Chauncey Olcott and George Graff Jr. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

When Irish eyes are smiling.

Title of song (1912; music by Ernest R. Ball)

15.12 Frederick Scott Oliver =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1864-1934

A wise politician will never grudge a genuflexion or a rapture if it is

expected of him by prevalent opinion.

The Endless Adventure (1930) vol. 1, pt. 1, ch. 20

15.13 Laurence Olivier (Baron Olivier of Brighton) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1907-1989

Acting is a masochistic form of exhibitionism. It is not quite the

occupation of an adult.

In Time 3 July 1978, p. 33

15.14 Frank Ward O'Malley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1875-1932

See Elbert Hubbard (8.85)

15.15 Mary O'Malley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1941-

Once a Catholic always a Catholic. That's the rule.

Once a Catholic (1971) act 1, sc. 2. Cf. Angus Wilson

15.16 Eugene O'Neill =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1888-1953

For de little stealin' dey gits you in jail soon or late. For de big

stealin' dey makes you Emperor and puts you in de Hall o' Fame when you

croaks.

The Emperor Jones (1921) sc. 1

The iceman cometh.

Title of play (1946)

Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.

Lazarus Laughed (1927) act 2, sc. 1

When men make gods, there is no God!

Lazarus Laughed (1927) act 2, sc. 2

A long day's journey into night.

Title of play (written 1940-1; published 1956)

Life is perhaps most wisely regarded as a bad dream between two

awakenings, and every day is a life in miniature.

Marco Millions (1928) act 2, sc. 2

The sea hates a coward!

Mourning becomes Electra (1931) pt. 2, act 4

What beastly incidents our memories insist on cherishing!...the ugly and

disgusting...the beautiful things we have to keep diaries to remember!

Strange Interlude (1928) pt. 1, act 2

The only living life is in the past and future...the present is an

interlude...strange interlude in which we call on past and future to bear

witness we are living.

Strange Interlude (1928) pt. 2, act 8

Strange interlude! Yes, our lives are merely strange dark interludes in

the electrical display of God the Father!

Strange Interlude (1928) pt. 2, act 9

15.17 Brian O'Nolan =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1911-1966

See Flann O'Brien (15.3)

15.18 J. Robert Oppenheimer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1904-1967

In some sort of crude sense which no vulgarity, no humour, no

overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and

this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.

Lecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 25 Nov. 1947, in Open

Mind (1955) ch. 5

15.19 Susie Orbach =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1946-

Fat is a feminist issue.

Title of book (1978)

15.20 Baroness Orczy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1865-1947

We seek him here, we seek him there,

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in heaven?--Is he in hell?

That demmed, elusive Pimpernel?

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) ch. 12

15.21 David Ormsby Gore =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1918-1985

See Lord Harlech (8.23)

15.22 Jos� Ortega y Gasset =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1883-1955

Yo soy yo y mi circumstancia, y si no la salvo a ella no me salvo yo.

I am I plus my surroundings and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not

preserve myself.

Meditaciones del Quijote (Meditations of Quixote, 1914) in Obras Completas

(1946) vol. 1, p. 322

La civilizaci�n no es otra cosa que el ensayo de reducir la fuerza

a ultima ratio.

Civilization is nothing more than the effort to reduce the use of force to

the last resort.

La Rebeli�n de las Masas (The Revolt of the Masses, 1930) in Obras

Completas (1947) vol. 4, p. 191

15.23 Joe Orton =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1933-1967

I'd the upbringing a nun would envy and that's the truth. Until I was

fifteen I was more familiar with Africa than my own body.

Entertaining Mr Sloane (1964) act 1

Kath: Can he be present at the birth of his child?...

Ed: It's all any reasonable child can expect if the dad is present at

the conception.

Entertaining Mr Sloane (1964) act 3

Every luxury was lavished on you--atheism, breast-feeding, circumcision.

I had to make my own way.

Loot (1967) act 1

Policemen, like red squirrels, must be protected.

Loot (1967) act 1

Reading isn't an occupation we encourage among police officers. We try to

keep the paper work down to a minimum.

Loot (1967) act 2

The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste

invariably have very bad taste.

Transatlantic Review Spring 1967, p. 95

You were born with your legs apart. They'll send you to the grave in

a Y-shaped coffin.

What the Butler Saw (1969) act 1

15.24 George Orwell (Eric Blair) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1903-1950

Man is the only creature that consumes without producing.

Animal Farm (1945) ch. 1

Four legs good, two legs bad.

Animal Farm (1945) ch. 3

All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

Animal Farm (1945) ch. 10

At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.

Last words in his notebook, 17 April 1949, in Collected Essays (1968)

vol. 4, p. 515

I'm fat, but I'm thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there's thin man

inside every fat man, just as they say there's a statue inside every block

of stone?

Coming up For Air (1939) pt. 1, ch. 3. See also Cyril Connolly (3.85)

[Clement] Attlee reminds me of nothing so much as a recently dead fish,

before it has had time to stiffen.

Diary 19 May 1942, in Essays (1968 vol. 2, p. 426

He was an embittered atheist (the sort of atheist who does not so much

disbelieve in God as personally dislike Him), and took a sort of pleasure

in thinking that human affairs would never improve.

Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) ch. 30

Whatever is funny is subversive, every joke is ultimately a custard

pie....A dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion.

Horizon Sept. 1941 "The Art of Donald McGill"

Most revolutionaries are potential Tories, because they imagine that

everything can be put right by altering the shape of society; once that

change is effected, as it sometimes is, they see no need for any other.

Inside the Whale (1940) "Charles Dickens"

Keep the aspidistra flying.

Title of novel (1936)

England is not the jewelled isle of Shakespeare's much-quoted passage, nor

is it the inferno depicted by Dr Goebbels. More than either it resembles

a family, a rather stuffy Victorian family, with not many black sheep in

it but with all its cupboards bursting with skeletons....A family with the