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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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Laughter
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“From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend on reading it.”
Groucho Marx (1890–1977) first seen 1929 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To S. J. Perelman about his book Dawn Ginsbergh’s Revenge (1929), as quoted in LIFE (9 February 1962)
“There Shakespeare, on whose forehead climb The crowns o’ the world; oh, eyes sublime With tears and laughter for all time!”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) said by 1861 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This quiet dust was gentlemen and ladies And lads and girls; Was laughter and ability and sighing, And frocks and curls.”
Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Actually I am an exceedingly mild mannered person — a practitioner of peace, both domestic and foreign, a believer in the capitalistic system, and for my breakfast a devotee of scrambled eggs. ( Laughter)”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I find it [science] analytical, pretentious and superficial—largely because it does not address itself to dreams, chance, laughter, feelings, or paradox—in other words,—all the things I love the most.”
Luis Buñuel (1900–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There were certain things I didn't like, such as tipping. I thought we should be paid more, and not have to have any tips. But when I proposed that to the boss, I got nothing but laughter. She told everybody, "Richard doesn't want his tips, hee, hee, hee; he doesn't want his tips, ha, ha, ha." The world is full of this kind of dumb smart-alec who doesn't understand anything.”
Richard Feynman (1918–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A wonderful thing about true laughter is that it just destroys any kind of system of dividing people.”
John Cleese (born 1939) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From an interview with The A. V. Club (2008)
“The beauty of the world which is so soon to perish, has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.”
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Directly the mulberry tree begins to make you circle, break off. Pelt the tree with laughter.”
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Amour is the one human activity of any importance in which laughter and pleasure preponderate, if ever so slightly, over misery and pain.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with "expressing" myself with obscure creative impressions.”
Walt Disney (1901–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in "The man behind 'The Magic Kingdom'" in The Gazette [Colorado Springs (7 May 2005)]
“Laughter is America's most important export.”
Walt Disney (1901–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life after all is made up of eating and sleeping, of meeting and saying good-by to friends, of reunions and farewell parties, of tears and laughter, of having a haircut once in two weeks, of watering a potted flower and watching one’s neighbor fall off his roof.”
Lin Yutang (1895–1976) said by 1976 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Laughter would be bereaved if snobbery died.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Observer (13 March 1955)
“I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilized music in the world.”
Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Call a truce, then, to our labours let us feast with friends and neighbours, And be merry as the custom of our caste; For if “faint and forced the laughter,” and if sadness follow after, We are richer by one mocking Christmas past.”
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most creativity is a transition from one context into another where things are more surprising. There's an element of surprise, and especially in science, there is often laughter that goes along with the “Aha.” Art also has this element. Our job is to remind us that there are more contexts than the one that we're in — the one that we think is reality.”
Alan Kay (born 1940) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ACM Queue A Conversation with Alan Kay Vol. 2, No. 9 - Dec/Jan 2004-2005
“People hate it when they're tickled because laughter is not pleasant, if it goes on too long. I think it's a desperate sort of convulsion in desperate circumstances, which helps a little.”
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview, Public Radio International (October 2006)
“The passion of laughter is nothing else but a sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmities of others, or with our own formerly...”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) first seen 1640 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic Pt. I Human Nature (1640) Ch. 9
“Sudden Glory, is the passion which maketh those Grimaces called LAUGHTER.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) said by 1679 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'd like for them to say he took a few cups of love, he took one tablespoon of patience, teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter, one pinch of concern, and then, he mix willingness with happiness, he added lots of faith, and he stired it up well, then he spreads it over his span of a lifetime, and he served it to each and every deserving person he met.”
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was the laughter of the Elder Gods observing their creature man and noting their omissions, miscalculations and mistakes.”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I sometimes think the Labour Party is like a pub where the mild is running out. If someone doesn't do something soon, all that's left will be bitter. (Laughter). And all that's bitter will be Left.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Conservative Party Conference (10 October 1975)
“To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. [laughter] The lady's not for turning.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reacting to doubt over her economic policies at a Conservative Party Conference (10 October 1980)
“I’ve built walls, A fortress deep and mighty, That none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain.”
Paul Simon (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ten thousand times a million sons of sons move Through one great and towering town Wearing their wits, which means their laughter, As their crown. Set free upon the earth By simple gifts of knowing how mere mirth can cut the bonds And pull the blood spikes out; Their conversation shouts of "Fool!”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We poisoned it with laughter. All around within it we rose, we fell, we rose again, mystified by Fate, hysterical with chance. We fired our laughs like cannons at its heart!”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The tears that you spill, the sorrowful, are sweeter than the laughter of snobs and the guffaws of scoffers.”
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In a dream I saw Jesus and My God Pan sitting together in the heart of the forest. They laughed at each other's speech, with the brook that ran near them, and the laughter of Jesus was the merrier. And they conversed long.”
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You laughed for the marrow in their bones that was not yet ready for laughter; And you wept for their eyes that yet were dry. Your voice fathered their thoughts and their understanding. Your voice mothered their words and their breath.”
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gene Ray: Another thing, did you know your father is a fish? Interviewer: No, I did not know my... [laughter] Gene Ray: You know how salmon swim upstream, the male fertilizes the female eggs laid in the water? Interviewer: Yes. Gene Ray: The sperm fish swims upstream just like the salmon fertilizes female eggs laid in the water.”
Gene Ray (born 1927) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Radio KoL interview, April 9, 2004
“Tears and laughter, they are so much Gaelic to me.”
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to the song of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om — perfection.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perhaps his laughter saved them — it must be difficult to shoot a laughing man: you have to feel important to kill.”
Graham Greene (1904–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ill may a sad mind forge a merry face, Nor hath constrainèd laughter any grace.”
George Chapman (1559–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms — hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal.”
James Thurber (1894–1961) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New York Times Magazine (7 December 1958).
“He took a lie detector test. I had him take a polygraph, which he passed, which forever destroyed my faith in polygraphs (laughter).”
Hillary Clinton (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Moderator 1: Okay. Which designers do you prefer? Secretary Clinton: What designers of clothes? Moderator 1: Yes. Secretary Clinton: Would you ever ask a man that question? [Laughter, applause] Moderator 1: Probably not. Probably not. [Applause]”
Hillary Clinton (born 1947) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Townterview Hosted by KTR, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State. KTR Studio, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (December 2, 2010)
“I can prove at any time that my education tried to make another person out of me than the one I became. It is for the harm, therefore, that my educators could have done me in accordance with their intentions that I reproach them; I demand from their hands the person I now am, and since they cannot give him to me, I make of my reproach and laughter a drumbeat sounding in the world beyond.”
Franz Kafka (1883–1924) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (July 1910)
“You asking me the way?" "Yes," I said, "since I can't find it myself." "Give it up! Give it up!" said he, and turned with a sudden jerk, like someone who wants to be alone with his laughter.”
Franz Kafka (1883–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sometimes it's great fun to be silly, like children playing statues and dying of laughter. And sometimes being silly breaks the even pace and lets you get a new start.”
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The air is bright with hues of light And rich with laughter and with singing: Young hearts beat high in ecstasy, And banners wave, and bells are ringing: But silence falls with fading day, And there's an end to mirth and play. Ah, well-a-day!”
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) said by 1898 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“…when I went out I tried to push the door instead of pulling it. 'Pull it, mate,' said someone, and I had to obey. I nearly tripped over a footscraper and, the door closed, had the impression of loud laughter. The vile blunt-razor-blade wind blew hard from my sister’s house. I felt ashamed and furious. In the East there was politeness, doors opened the right way, there were no footscrapers.”
Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!”
Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From quiet homes and first beginning, Out to the undiscovered ends, There's nothing worth the wear of winning, But laughter and the love of friends.”
Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“These drugs have side effects that go on for fuckin' days, like tendency-to-grow-another-head, oh my God! When we were growing up we knew the side effects of the drugs we were taking. Cocaine, side effects were paranoia, ninjas-on-the-lawn; quaaludes, side effects were talking in tongues, English as a second language; marijuana, side effects were laughter, Frosted Flakes.”
Robin Williams (1951–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Germany in any case has no intention of bowing to this threat, but means to counter it in time and if necessary with the most complete and radical extermi—[correcting himself]—elimination [Ausrott — Ausschaltung]. [Applause. Shouts of "Out with the Jews." Laughter].”
Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Joseph Goebbels (“slip of the tongue”/faux pas — he almost said “extermination“), Sportsplast speech (18 February 1943), quoted by Saul Friedländer in, The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939–1945 (2…
“One may dream of a culture where everyone bursts into laughter when someone says: this is true, this is real.”
Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've seen most of Nathan's work, but it was seeing both 'Lisbon Traviata' and 'Laughter on the 23rd Floor' that I realized just what a superb physical comic he was.”
Nathan Lane (born 1956) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mike Nichols — reported in Kenneth M. Chanko, Entertainment News Wire (March 11, 1996) "Dragged Into The Limelight", Press-Telegram, p. D1.
“What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter, and dreams.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source