Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
Terry Pratchett
134 quotes
“Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cited in Power Quotes: For Life, Business, and Leadership (2018) by Danai Krokou,
“Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Foreword to The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1998) by David Pringle, , and The Definitive Illustrated Guide to Fantasy (2003) by David Pringle,
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Foreword to The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1998) by David Pringle, and The Definitive Illustrated Guide to Fantasy (2003) by David Pringle
“My programming language was solder.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his early computers, from a talk "When I Were A Lad, We Used To Dream of 64K" at the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, Scotland, (August 2005)
“No, I happen to be one of those people whose memory shuts down under pressure. The answers would come to me in the middle of the night in my sleep! Besides, I am a millionaire.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Response to a question asking if he would appear on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. ALCS News (May 2006)
“In ancient times cats were worshiped as gods; they have not forgotten this.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pratchett is credited as author of this, as quoted in Ghost Cats : Human Encounters with Feline Spirits (2007) by Dusty Rainbolt, p. 7, and in Chicken Soup for the Soul : What I Learned from the Cat (2009) by Jack Canfi…
“As they say in Discworld, we are trying to unravel the Mighty Infinite using a language which was designed to tell one another where the fresh fruit was.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Relatively Einstein episode 3, "Fantasy Physics" (18 January 2005); the Discworld version of this statement appears in Night Watch (2002)
“Wikipedia, eh? Must be accurate then!”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The age interview (17 Feb 2007)
“Life doesn't happen in chapters — at least, not regular ones. Nor do movies. Homer didn't write in chapters. I can see what their purpose is in children's books ("I'll read to the end of the chapter, and then you must go to sleep") but I'm blessed if I know what function they serve in books for adults.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the lack of chapters in Discworld books, in an interview by Gavin J. Grant at Booksource.com (2008)
“As for The Mapp... I suspect it'll never get a US publication. It seemed to frighten US publishers. They don't seem to understand it. That seems to point up a significant difference between Europeans and Americans: A European says: I can't understand this, what's wrong with me? An American says: I can't understand this, what's wrong with him? I make no suggestion that one side or the other is right, but observation over many years leads me to believe it is true.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The space between the young readers eyeballs and the printed page is a holy place and officialdom should trample all over it at their peril.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nerds are the only people who know how to operate the video recorder.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Desert Island Discs (1997)
“I keep vaguely wondering what Macs are like, but the ones I've seen spend too much time being friendly.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: alt.fan.pratchett (5 July 1992)
“Never trust any complicated cocktail that remains perfectly clear until the last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: alt.fan.pratchett (22 November 1993)
“Educational" refers to the process, not the object. Although, come to think of it, some of my teachers could easily have been replaced by a cheeseburger.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In response to a comment that if television is educational because watching it can teach you a lot about society, then a cheeseburger is also educational, alt.fan.pratchett (15 October 1996)
“I don't like the place at all. It's all wrong. An imposition on the Landscape. I reckon that Stonehenge was build by the contemporary equivalent of Microsoft, whereas Avebury was definitely an Apple circle.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Stonehenge, at alt.fan.pratchett (8 June 1997)
“Dickens, as you know, never got round to starting his home page.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: alt.fan.pratchett (8 August 1997)
“Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combatting the forces of evil... prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon...”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: alt.fan.pratchett (30 May 1998)
“'They can ta'k our lives but they can never ta'k our freedom!' Now there's a battle cry not designed by a clear thinker...”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Referring to a statement in the movie Braveheart, at alt.fan.pratchett (11 January 1999)
“There should be a notice ahead of the movie that says 'This movie is PG. Can you read? You are a Parent. Do you understand what Guidance is? Or are you just another stupid toddler who thinks they're an adult simply because they've grown older and, unfortunately, have developed fully-functioning sexual organs? Would you like some committee somewhere to decide *everything* for you? Get a damn grip, will you? And shut the wretched kid up !'”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: alt.fan.pratchett (10 July 2001)
“While a book has got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the reader it's got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the writer as well.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: alt.fan.pratchett (1 December 1998)
“It's amazing how fast gold works.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On building the clacks, at alt.fan.pratchett (18 June 2002)
“Oh dear, I'm feeling political today. It's just that it's dawned on me that 'zero tolerance' only seems to mean putting extra police in poor, run-down areas, and not in the Stock Exchange.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Go on, prove me wrong. Destroy the fabric of the universe. See if I care.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I once absent-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a restaurant and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and a bottle of chili sauce”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh, come on. Revelation was a mushroom dream that belonged in the Apocrypha. The New Testament is basically about what happened when God got religion”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What your soldier wants -- really, really wants -- is no-one shooting back at him.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can't make people happy by law. If you said to a bunch of average people two hundred years ago "Would you be happy in a world where medical care is widely available, houses are clean, the world's music and sights and foods can be brought into your home at small cost, traveling even 100 miles is easy, childbirth is generally not fatal to mother or child, you don't have to die of dental abcesses and you don't have to do what the squire tells you" they'd think you were talking about the New Jerusalem and say 'yes'.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A true beanie should have a propellor on the top.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This isn't life in the fast lane, it's life in the oncoming traffic.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I mean, I wouldn't pay more than a couple of quid to see me, and I'm me.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think that sick people in Ankh-Morpork generally go to a vet. It's generally a better bet. There's more pressure on a vet to get it right. People say "it was god's will" when granny dies, but they get angry when they lose a cow.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have to admit that I drive past Bridgwater quite regularly. And fast.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What you have here is an example of that well known phenomenon, A Bookshop Assistant Who Knows Buggerall But Won't Admit It (probably some kind of arts graduate).”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I staggered into a Manchester bar late one night on a tour and the waitress said "You look as if you need a Screaming Orgasm". At the time this was the last thing on my mind...”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I didn't go to university. Didn't even finish A-levels. But I have sympathy for those who did.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Out of Print" is bookseller speak for "We can't be hedgehogged".”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was thinking of 'duh?' in the sense of 'a sentence containing several words more than three letters long, and possibly requiring general knowledge or a sense of history that extends past last Tuesday, has been used in my presence.'”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Bognor has always meant to me the quintessential English seaside experience (before all this global warming stuff): driving in the rain to get there, walking around in the rain looking for something to do when you're there, and driving home in the rain again...”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I must confess the activities of the UK governments for the past couple of years have been watched with frank admiration and amazement by Lord Vetinari. Outright theft as a policy had never occurred to him.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm referred to, I see, as 'the biggest banker in modern publishing'. Now there's a line that needed the celebrated Guardian proof-reading.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I save about twenty drafts — that's ten meg of disc space — and the last one contains all the final alterations. Once it has been printed out and received by the publishers, there's a cry here of 'Tough shit, literary researchers of the future, try getting a proper job!' and the rest are wiped.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I always thought Detritus would be good at: "I bet you're wondrin' how many time I fired dis crossbow--”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mind you, the Elizabethans had so many words for the female genitals that it is quite hard to speak a sentence of modern English without inadvertently mentioning at least three of them.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Currently there's five machines permanently networked here. They all contain the serious core stuff. A couple of the machines are pensioned off 486s, with little other value now. Plus there's two Jaz drives in the building and the portable also carries a fair amount of stuff. Plus every Friday a man comes around and carves all the new stuff onto stone slabs and buries them in the garden... I think I'm okay.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I heeded all the advice I've had over the years, I'd have written 18 books about Rincewind.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb -- they're often students, for heaven's sake.”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Death isn't online. If he was, there would be a sudden drop in the death rate. Although it'd be interesting to see if he'd post things like: DON'T YOU THINK I SOUND LIKE JAMES EARL JONES?”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The net software here did its meltdown trick again at the weekend (it happens about once every six months -- if only everything was as reliable as WordPerfect 4.2, which only chews up a novel about once every two or three years...)”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'd like to stand up for the rights of people who put everything on their burger -- chutney, mustard, pickle, mustard pickle, tomato sauce... It is common knowledge in my family that I can't tell the difference between a veggie burger and a meat one, because the ratio of burger to pickles is so high. [either misquoted or mis-thought, since not to be able to tell would mean the burger:pickles ratio is so low]”
Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source