Famous quotes
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Laughter
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“It's a nice feeling. I was not like the popular guy in high school. This is revenge for all the bullies in high school [laughter]. It's a great feeling. Maybe women sometimes are more open to romantic music.”
Josh Groban (born 1981) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inside Connection, February 2004
“Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.”
Karl Barth (1886–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Harper Book of Quotations (1993) by Robert I. Fitzhenry, p. 223.
“The Colonel knew by experience that in women like his wife, Sofya Lvovna, after a little too much wine, turbulent gaiety was followed by hysterical laughter and then tears. He was afraid that when they got home, instead of being able to sleep, he would have to be administering compresses and drops.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) said by 1904 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think the Moon is a world like this one, and the Earth is its moon." My friends greeted this with a burst of laughter. "And maybe," I told them, "someone on the Moon is even now making fun of someone else who says that our globe is a world.”
Cyrano de Bergerac (1619–1655) said by 1655 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anger kills both laughter and joy; What greater foe is there than anger?”
Thiruvalluvar wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“… And if you are a man wearing capri pants...? [Laughter] You need to take your guy card out of your wallet and pass it forward. Then... yeah, then, on the way home I want you to buy a tube of Vagasil, a VW convertible, and have your boyfriend drive you the rest of the way home, 'cause you are dismissed.”
Christopher Titus (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Innocence. Gone, forever, with the unthinkable and the unspeakable. And innocent laughter gone as well. Now only the dirty giggle, the wicked snigger, the game of out-grossing, the playtime of the beasts. So that when the real death stalks When the real horror begins It will all be familiar and we will be able to enjoy it.”
Sheri S. Tepper (1929–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thy tender kiss hath memory we are kings For all our wanderings. Thy shining eyes already see the after In hidden light and laughter.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am the sunlight in the heart, the silver moonglow in the mind; My laughter runs and ripples through the wavy tresses of the wind. I am the fire upon the hills, the dancing flame that leads afar Each burning-hearted wanderer, and I the dear and homeward star.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sacred thy laughter on the air, Holy thy lightest word that fell, Proud the innumerable hair That waved at the enchanter's spell. Oh Master of the Beautiful, Creating us from hour to hour, Give me this vision to the full To see in lightest things thy power! This vision give, no heaven afar, No throne, and yet I will rejoice, Knowing beneath my feet a star, Thy word in every wandering voice.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are tired who follow after Phantasy and truth that flies: You with only look and laughter Stain our hearts with richest dyes.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pain and penitence forsaking, Hearts like cloisters dim and grey, By your laughter lured, awaking Join with you the dance of day.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everything in our background has prepared us to know and resist a prison when the gates begin to close around us...But what if there are no cries of anguish to be heard? Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture's being drained by laughter?”
Neil Postman (1931–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tears are as sweet as laughter to some natures.”
Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) said by 1927 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It seems so sad to see the little dirt-grimed brats try to play in the noisy courts and muddy streets. Poor little uncared-for, unwanted human atoms, they are not children. Children are bright-eyed, chubby, and shy. These are dingy, screeching elves, their tiny faces seared and withered, their baby laughter cracked and hoarse.”
Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927) said by 1927 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter.”
Francis Thompson (1859–1907) said by 1907 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America is both North and South, White and Black, Republican and Democrat. We are laughter and loss, Saturday night and Sunday morning, Old Testament and New. Liberty and equality are not opposites in inevitable conflict, but act in concert under the practical balance of the Union. In the end, even war and peace are intimately entwined.”
John Avlon (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They took infants from their mothers' breasts, snatching them by the legs and pitching them headfirst against the crags or snatched them by the arms and threw them into the rivers, roaring with laughter and saying as the babies fell into the water, "Boil there, you offspring of the devil!”
Bartolomé de las Casas (1484–1566) said by 1566 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The right hon. Member for Heseltine—[Laughter.]—well, that is what he is; he sticks to that principle more than he does to Henley.”
Michael Foot (1913–2010) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (26 March 1991), referring to Michael Heseltine. MPs are referred to in the House by the constituency they represent rather than by their name, so Mr Heseltine would be "Rt. Hon. Member fo…
“Surrealism was a genuine addition to the repertoire of avant-garde arts, its novelty attested by the ability to produce shock, incomprehension, or what amounted to the same thing, a sometimes, embarrassed laughter, even among the older avant-garde.”
Eric Hobsbawm (1917–2012) first seen 1914 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Arts 1914-1945
“As soon as this is over we'll go home To plant the seeds of justice in our bones, To watch the children growing and see the women sewing. There'll be laughter when the bells of freedom ring.”
Elton John (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Over seven thousand US veterans die of suicide every year, which is funny... [false laughter]... because you'd think they'd die over there, but they come home! Right? I thought that must be funny, because nobody was taking it that seriously.”
Maria Bamford (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There's a lot of laughter that goes on. Since we're laughing together, we're true community. It's a very safe place to confront your fears. The minute somebody says, "Perform!" your fear comes up...”
Martin de Maat (1949–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are so many elements flying in so many different directions that you really have to go with what feels like instinctively. The nature of the universe is fairly whimsical and nonsensical. In the most somber, beatific peacefulness there's complete chaos and maniacal laughter. I think music that doesn't reflect that is boring.”
Beck (born 1970) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Guitar magazine, January 1999
“Strange, when you come to think of it, that of all the countless folk who have lived before our time on this planet not one is known in history or in legend as having died of laughter.”
Max Beerbohm (1872–1956) first seen 1920 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Laughter (1920)
“I'm totally aware of how lucky I am. I have health, family, children. I do work that gives me total joy and allows me to make a living, and maybe, if I'm lucky enough, I'll feel I've fulfilled a little bit of service to society because I brought other people some laughter.”
Martin Short (born 1950) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Parade Magazine; January 23, 2000
“A precious place is Paradise and none may know its worth, But Eden ever longeth for the knicknacks of the earth.The angels grow quite wistful over worldly things below; They hear the hurdy-gurdies in the Candle Makers Row.They listen for the laughter from the antics of the earth; They lower pails from heaven's walls to catch the milk-maids mirth.”
Nathalia Crane (1913–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I still get laughed at but it doesn't bother me, I'm just so glad to hear laughter around me.”
Amanda Palmer (born 1976) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Do You Swear to Tell the Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth So Help Your Black Ass (2010)
“Here we are living in a world of "identity crises," and most of us have no idea what an identity is. Half the problem is that an identity is something which must be understood intuitively, rather than in terms of provable fact. An infinite question is often destroyed by finite answers. To define everything is to annihilate much that gives us laughter and joy.”
Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And I, whose childhood Is a forgotten boredom, Feel like a child Who comes on a scene Of adult reconciling, And can understand nothing But the unusual laughter, And starts to be happy.”
Philip Larkin (1922–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Posing as a woman named 'Sarah' in a call to an emergency police phoneline] I have got some information for you. I've seen a gentleman who fits the description. He was wearing a lime green top and polka- dot trousers, and I thought, "Well, look at the state of him" (laughter). I've had someone come near my underpass. He was dressed absolutely atrociously, he looked like Timmy Mallett.”
Russell Brand (born 1975) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Further comments from the performance, as cited in "Outcry at Brand's 'joke' call to police hunting sex fiend", Evening Standard (15 July 2008).
“Oh also I raped someone once, [laughter] I killed her after.”
Russell Brand (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I dream of you too, Mariam jo. I miss you. I miss the sound of your voice, your laughter. I miss reading to you, and all the times we fished together. Do you remember all the times we fished together? You were a good daughter, Mariam jo, and I cannot ever think of you without feeling shame and regret. -Jalil's letter”
Khaled Hosseini (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.”
Molly Ivins (1944–2007) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Fun's in the Fight." originally published in Mother Jones (1993), also quoted by John Nichols, The Nation, "Remembering Molly Ivins" (January 31, 2007).
“In my own prejudice ... I would have of a poet ... whose worlds would not be too esoteric ... fond of talking ... capable of pity and laughter ... appreciative of women ... involved in personal relationships ... susceptible to physical impressions...”
Louis MacNeice (1907–1963) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Modern Poetry: A Personal Essay (Oxford University Press, 1938), ch. xi, p. 198
“In all of living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Stand True and Faithful, Ensign, May 1996, 91.
“He discovered or described hundreds of afflictions and cures, and by testing remedies he concluded “Laughter is the best medicine”
Eduardo Galeano (1940–2015) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone (2009), p. 64
“From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.”
S. J. Perelman (1904–1979) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Groucho Marx on Perelman’s Dawn Ginsbergh’s Revenge (1928), quoted in Dorothy Herrmann S. J. Perelman: A Life (1986) p. 61.
“Daybreak comes quickly nowadays The scent of wind has changed It seems familiar yet unfamiliar It makes my heartbeat quicker It's sweet and sad We ran along the road to the sea Screaming with laughter innocently In the far-away summer days”
Ayumi Hamasaki (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I recall the sudden arpeggios of laughter lilting across the tender, springtime grass — gay-welling, far-floating, fluent, spontaneous, a bell-like feminine fluting, then suppressed; as though snuffed swiftly and irrevocably beneath the quiet solemnity of the vespered air now vibrant with somber chapel bells.”
Ralph Ellison (1914–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”
Nicole Krauss (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I based my career from the very beginning on people like Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Margaret Rutherford. I keep thinking Maggie and Judi are going to eventually not want those parts and I’m going to move up and take them (laughter). So, hopefully, I’ll be working in my 70s and 80s. You know, character actresses. I never had looks to lose. I could keep going—Meryl Streep and me.”
Tracey Ullman (born 1959) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in 2009 in The Many States of Tracey Ullman
“I remember it so clearly — how people, seeing me, would break off in midword. Laughter died. Lovers' hands unclasped. Children ran to their mothers. I didn't even know their short-lived names. And that song about a little green leaf — no one ever finished it near me.”
Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like all young men I set out to be a genius, but mercifully laughter intervened.”
Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It may be we shall know in the hereafter Why we, begetting hopes, give birth to fears, And why the world's too beautiful for laughter, Too gross for tears.”
Percy Addleshaw (1866–1916) first seen 1895 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: It May Be (1895).
“Through honeycombs of stone would now be wandering the passions in their clay. There would be tears and there would be strange laughter. Fierce births and deaths beneath umbrageous ceilings. And dreams, and violence, and disenchantment.”
Mervyn Peake (1911–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern.The country is grey and brown and white in trees, snows and skies of laughter always diminishing, less funny not just darker, not just grey.It may be the coldest day of the year, what does he think of that? I mean, what do I? And if I do, perhaps I am myself again.”
Frank O'Hara (1926–1966) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mayakovsky, st. 4, from Meditations in an Emergency (1957).
“Those cherries fairly do enclose Of orient pearl a double row, Which when her lovely laughter shows, They look like rose-buds fill'd with snow.”
Thomas Campion (1567–1620) said by 1620 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“R-E-M-O-R-S-E! Those dry Martinis did the work for me; Last night at twelve I felt immense, To-day I feel like thirty cents. My eyes are bleared, my coppers hot, I’ll try to eat, but I cannot. It is no time for mirth and laughter, The cold, gray dawn of the morning after.”
George Ade (1866–1944) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sultan of Sulu (1903) act 2, p. 63; Ki-Ram loq.
“Laughter separates us from despair and gives us a chance at love.”
Craig Ferguson (born 1962) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 2011-08-05 broadcast