Quotes Archive

Do you know what “le vice anglais”—the English vice—really is? Not flagellation, not pederasty—whatever the French believe it to be: it’s our refusal to admit our emotions. We think they demean us, I suppose. Terence Rattigan, In Praise of Love, (1973) Act II, p.537 Favorite0

Englishwomen conceal their feelings until after they are married. They show them then. Oscar Wilde, A Woman of no Importance Favorite0

I am due to appear in court next week Charged with emotion. Roger McGough, Vandal Favorite0

The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language. George Bernard Shaw, widely attributed beginning in the 1940s, e.g. Reader’s Digest (November 1942). Not found in his published works. Variant: The English and the Americans are two peoples divided by a common language Favorite0

Bad people? What kind of bad people? Members of the Church of Satan? Insurance salesmen? People who don’t speak English?” Wayne Gerard Trotman, Ashes to Ashes Favorite0

One knows so well the popular idea of health: the English country gentleman galloping after a fox—the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable. Oscar Wilde Favorite0

We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language. Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost Favorite0

When learning English as a second language, be sure to garble small words out of order in incomplete sentences. Then you’ll have achieved the proficiency of a native speaker. Bauvard, Some Inspiration for the Overenthusiastic Favorite0

Still, not to be English is hardly regarded as a fatal deficiency even by the English, though grave enough to warrant sympathy. Beryl Markham, West with the Night Favorite0

I know your head aches. I know you’re tired. I know your nerves are as raw as meat in a butcher’s window. But think what you’re trying to accomplish—just think what you’re dealing with. The majesty and grandeur of the English language; it’s the greatest possession we have. The noblest thoughts that