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
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“They [social workers] were always calling police stations telling them. 'There is a riot in the Northon street settlement. Send the riot squad right away.' A couple of cops would come down and joke with the boys [Native Whites], because they were good friends.”
William Foote Whyte (1914–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was at a photo shoot and I was wearing a cross necklace that my mom bought me, and somebody made a joke like, 'Why are you wearing a cross? Like you would be religious,' And then they took it away. I was really affected by that.The whole thing made me realize that I do want [a cross] with me, at all times.”
Kate Upton (born 1992) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Kate Upton Boyfriend Rumors Slammed, Model Talks Religion: 'I Want A Cross With Me' (August 8, 2013)
“Amazing. I thought this was some sort of joke quote taken out of context but no... it’s just Don Lemon being a moron. Unfortunately this is how so many leftists actually think. Disgusting! Imagine the outrage if you changed “white men” with any other demographic?”
Donald Trump Jr. (born 1977) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 31 October 2018 tweet in response to a quote about some white men being a threat by Don Lemon
“When you have divided government, the administration knows that both the Congress and the media are watching it, which restrains its behavior. But we’re in the process of creating an environment where everyone knows that accountability is a joke.”
Paul Waldman (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Joke exchanges are carried on in deadly earnest, like a verbal duel-mouth-to-mouth combat. Bang, bang: you’re (linguistically) dead.”
David Crystal (born 1941) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Crystal, Language Play, University of Chicago Press, 1998
“During my early years as an actor, Bond was never a desire, but when Cassie was playing in For Your Eyes Only, then, of course, it became a joke. I would do my own impersonations of James Bond. Just for fun. Just driving her home from work, or going out, or talking about her experience on it. But even so, it was not an ambition to play James Bond. I had my sights set on other aspects of the work.”
Pierce Brosnan (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Brosnan. Pierce Brosnan. (November 1997)
“You can be told 20 days in (a) row that you should be raped and sodomised and beaten and strung up and thrown out and taught a lesson, but if on the 21st day you turn around and make a joke about firing men into the sun using a cannon, you are a scold who hates men and is teaching her son that he's a rapist.”
Clementine Ford (writer) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Clementine Ford: This is the personal price I pay for speaking out online, July 13 2017, in the Sydney Morning Herald
“Primarily we write the show to entertain ourselves. Sometimes I recognize a joke that reminds me of something that I would've busted up at as a kid. I'm happy when I see those kinds of jokes. Because the show is for kids more than anyone else, but most of the time we are just trying to crack ourselves up and trying not to worry about much other than that.”
Pendleton Ward (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Race jokes are kind of like orcas: powerful and entertaining, but you put them on display in the wrong environment and people are going to get hurt, and the joke might die. Like this one just did.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: April 12th, 2016, Visible in Bill de Blasio's Questionable Joke, CC.com, 12 April 2016.
“The technology needed for an early Internet-connection implant is no more than 25 years off. Imagine that you could understand any language, remember every joke, solve any equation, get the latest news, balance your checkbook, communicate with others, and have near-instant access to any book ever published, without ever having to leave the privacy of yourself.”
Bran Ferren (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“joke's on you; i actually love being body slammed by one dozen perfect wrestlers. and my mouth isn't filled with bloodm, it's victory wine”
“for like 8 months i thought covid was one of those joke diseases where you ask "what's covid" and the other guy tells tou to suck his nuts”
“When I say things like "I want to build a machine that can be proud of me," that's not just a joke.”
Danny Hillis (born 1956) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Project Tierra". youtube.com. January 27, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
“Despite evidence to the contrary (and there is enough of it to fill many volumes), there is still a widespread notion...that flying saucers are some kind of American joke..that the mystery has already been cleared up...and that there is nothing more to worry about.”
George Adamski (1891–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Rubber Rodeo has become not so much a joke on the conventions of cowboy pop as a reassessment on the urge to roam where no buffalo roam.”
J. D. Considine (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The phrase ‘Be the cowboy you want to see in the world’ has been an inside joke between me and myself…I would always kind of say it to myself in situations where I feel like I’m sort of trapped in my own mind. Like, ‘Oh, what would a swaggering, western movie cowboy do in this situation?’”
Mitski (born 1990) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On choosing Be the Cowboy as the title of her third studio album in “Mitski says ‘Be the Cowboy’ is an inside joke between her and herself” in 88Nine (14 Aug 2018)
“It’s best if you go out in the world knowing more than one language, I don’t care what the language is. It’s good for your brain to dream in another language. It gives you a clue, another perspective, a way of understanding, some compassion for other people—even if it’s just because you know how to joke in another language. (1991)”
Jessica Hagedorn (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He who laughs last may be the joke.”
Ron English (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He who laughs last didn’t get the joke.”
Ron English (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It (firing on kar sewaks) was wrong then (1990). Killing people is no joke.”
Kalyan Singh (1932–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m going down in the 7th round of this fight that I thought was just a joke.”
“It is always important to know who you friends are and aren't. And the communists were never the liberals' friends. The fact is that the joke is on liberals, except that none of this is really very funny.”
Paul Kengor (born 1966) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Return of the Dupes and the Anti-Anti-Communists (June 13, 2008)
“I'm gross. I have hair on my shoulders now. I don't even have a joke for that, that's how much I hate that shit.”
John Mulaney (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then January 6 happens, and next thing you know, I organized the whole thing along with Steve Bannon here. And I gotta tell you something: If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, it would have been armed. Yeah. See, that’s the whole joke isn’t it?”
Marjorie Taylor Greene (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Conspiracy theories are just a joke. Kevin Sullivan didn’t do anything, you know? We looked into that and never had the police look into him, so yeah. I didn’t want to believe it. I thought someone broke into the house or some shit and did it, but apparently there was a scuffle at the door. That’s what I heard.”
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 14 January interview with Chris Van Vliet by David Benoit, quoted by 14 January 2020 article by Ringside News by
“By forcing our military to vaccinate the franken-jab, #SleepyJoe is doing to them what they are fighting to defend against - tyranny around the world. And that joke of a Secretary of Defense is nothing more than a woke Communist. He needs to go.”
Wendy Rogers (politician) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 4 August 2021 regarding Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin
“A joke can only get laughs for one reason because it resonates.”
Yang Li (born 1992) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: She Mocked Men’s Bluster. Then Came the Complaints." in The New York Times (30 December 2020)
“Our country is beyond repair at this rate. Diezani who has stolen billions and has the bloody balls to give a speech on how Yahoo boys are destroying Nigeria . And she knows she can do this and nothing will happen to her because our government is weak! And joke.”
Bolanle olukanni wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nigerians truly have a gift. We can turn the most dire situation into a hilarious joke.”
Kemi Adetiba (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can barely contain my true feeling about you. My true animosity and hatred. Utter disdain. I wouldn't describe it any other way other than pure contempt and utter disdain. Distilled hatred. And it's not a joke. It's completely serious. And I can barely hold it in.”
Nick Fuentes (born 1998) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking to his fans Candace Owens DESTROYS "Unholy Rabbi" Barclay Timestamp 22:00 - 22:20 (March 19, 2024)
“During the primaries, everyone liked my half-joke about 'investment nanny'. Both the president and the prime minister and the speaker have heard this. I said that for investors, I would not only be an "investment nanny", but an "investment" and "investment teacher". I will love them like a mother and control them like a mother-in-law. So, everything will be fine.”
Iryna Vereshchuk (born 1979) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: During her mayoral campaign in 2020
“Doing stand-up, for me, created a deep sense of courageousness. There’s no one else to blame if your screw up. The moments you’re failing are quite devastating. But you realize you can win the audience back with the next joke if you hold on and keep working.”
Jenn Colella (born 1974) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jenn Colella - From Broadway to stand-up & cabaret" in Bay Area Reporter (2020-02-19)
“Stand-up created a platform to weave a story together and trust my own ideas… it gave me a deep sense of bravery as a performer. To be on stage and have a joke fail miserably, and realizing that the world continues to spin. I can get them back in the next breath.”
Jenn Colella (born 1974) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jenn Colella ready for next destination in high-flying career" in San Francisco Chronicle Datebook (2020-02-27)
“I joke that it took our family 100 years to travel one mile. But what a journey it has been. Our family story is the story of millions of families whose ancestors came to these shores from all around the world in search of freedom, opportunity, and equality.”
Gary Locke (born 1950) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Gary Locke keynotes anti-hate summit" in Northwest Asian Weekly (29 October 2021)
“A cynical joke or perhaps an exclamation has appeared, I’ve already heard it from several people in Moscow. "All hope is pinned on famine". What is meant is that famine will begin and they [in the West] will come to their senses, will remove sanctions and will be friends with us because it's impossible to not be friends.”
Margarita Simonyan (born 1980) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chief Russian propagandist: “All our hope is pinned on famine”", khpg (24 June 2022)
“In my childhood years, I dreamt of being a footballer. But as my friends often joke, they tried to take the ball in an unsportsmanlike way... which is how I became a boxer.”
Vitali Klitschko (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Me, the future Pope? That's a joke by journalists.”
Luis Antonio Tagle (born 1957) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Francesco Antonio Grana, Luis Antonio Tagle, "il Padre eterno" di Manila. Un libro intervista lo racconta, Il Fatto Quotidiano (April 26, 2016)
“I made about ten drawings with a joke comment or dialogue for every one that I finished and sold. Thus I kept exercising my hand and eye.”
Art Young (1866–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wherever he goes he is cheered by the people. “The people?” Norfolk says. They’d cheer a Barbary ape. Who cares what they cheer? Hang ’em all.” “But then who will you tax?” he says, and Norfolk looks at him fearfully, unsure if he’s made a joke.”
Hilary Mantel (1952–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As for Boris Johnson, I look back with a morbid incredulity at what that baby grew up to be. It’s a not particularly good joke to surprise people with the fact that I am one of the many women to have seen him naked.”
Polly Toynbee (born 1946) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From an edited extract of An Uneasy Inheritance: My Family and Other Radicals (Atlantic Books, 2023), as reproduced in "Polly Toynbee: what my privileged start in life taught me about the British class system" The Guard…
“I [recorded the tape] at 5 a.m., after my prom at the university and a friend of mine shot it for a joke. I was extremely scared that this was something sketchy, it’s not a real audition, they’re gonna try to do human trafficking on me.”
Maria Bakalova (born 1996) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We make the joke we’re like Noah’s Ark, you have to join two by two, so you get Republicans and Democrats to stay equal”
Jacky Rosen (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I often say, and it is not a joke, that poetry is not incompatible with prosperity,”
Louise Mushikiwabo (born 1961) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: https://www.topafricanews.com/2026/07/01/louise-mushikiwabo-pitches-modernization-economic-growth-and-ai-for-oif-in-bid-for-new-mandate/
“I would hate to see a train run over my mother or father, or brothers. Oh, what would I do?” [Mumbi] quickly exclaimed. “Women are cowards.” Karanja said half in joke. “Would you like a train to run over you?” Mumbi retorted angrily. Karanja felt the anger and did not answer.”
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1938–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All I have to say is, take care of yourself. Don’t joke with anything or take things for granted, even if it’s a headache or cold. Treat it immediately.”
Halima Abubakar (born 1985) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Women who want to be up there must work for it.It is not a joke, you must show that you can do it.”
Itunu Hotonu (born 1959) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech delivered At the 100 Years of the Nigerian Woman Achieving 50/50 by 2020, Lagos.
“my kids joke that I’m going to die with a pencil in my hand”
Ellah Wakatama Allfrey (born 1966) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An interview with Ella,(January 26,2020)
“The Statue of Liberty is an extension of a tradition that seems to embody the contradictions in America's promise, and a reminder that its promises have not always been extended to us. As the narrator in James Baldwin's 1960 short story "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon" puts it, "I would never know what this statue meant to others, she had always been an ugly joke for me.”
Clint Smith (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing gets dated faster than a joke.”
Cathy Park Hong (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I worked for The New York Times for nine years, under Abe Rosenthal, who was a very conservative guy. I always joke, he used to come into the newsroom in Washington and tap me on the top of my head and say, “How’s my little commie?” The next sentence would be, “What do you have for me?”
Seymour Hersh (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source