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. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Laughter
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“[L]ook at yourself right now... hoping to lose yourself—your home, your certainties, the borders and boundaries of your life—by means of a bundle of wood pulp, sewn and glued and stained with blobs of pigment and resin. People with Books. … It makes me want to laugh.”
Michael Chabon (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Think about it, I say. How many straight men maintain inappropriately intimate relationships with their mothers? How many shop with them? I want a gay son. People laugh, but they assume I'm kidding. I'm not.”
Ayelet Waldman (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If those extra-social brains are so potent, why after all do they effect so little? A dull police-officer, with the machine behind him, can afford to laugh at most experiments in anarchy.”
John Buchan (1875–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In a wood they call the Rouge Bouquet, There is a new-made grave today, Built by never a spade nor pick, Yet covered with earth ten meteres thick. There lie many fighting men. Dead in their youthful prime Never to laugh nor love again Nor taste the Summertime.”
Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rouge Bouquet" (1918)
“Stupid people, people who do not know how to laugh, are always pompous and self-conceited.”
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I feel like I could run for President. People often laugh, but if I set my mind to it, within the next 15 years I could be in the White House.”
Will Smith (born 1968) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Will Smith" article in Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies (2001 edition), p. 406
“Bob Holmes, the script editor, did laugh and filled his pipe so that he could create a smoke screen between us while he turned the idea down.”
“We are the same. There is no difference anywhere in the world. People are people. They laugh, cry, feel, and love, and music seems to be the commons denomination that brings us all together. Music cuts through all boundaries and goes right to the soul.”
Willie Nelson (born 1933) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They say there's a heaven for those who will wait Some say it's better but I say it ain't. I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints Sinners are much more fun... And only the good die young.”
Billy Joel (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And so my child and I came to this place To meet him eye to eye and face to face. He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced. We never knew what friends we had Until we came to Leningrad.”
Billy Joel (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love quickly is pall'd, Tho' with labour 'tis gain'd; Wine never does cloy Tho' with ease 'tis obtain'd. We sing while you sigh, We laugh while you weep; Love robs you of rest, Wine lulls us asleep.”
Thomas Shadwell (1642–1692) said by 1692 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We'd be making sail in the dawn, with a fair breeze, singing a chanty song wid no care to it. And astern the land would be sinking low and dying out, but we'd give it no heed but a laugh, and never look behind. For the day that was, was enough, for we was free men — and I'm thinking 'tis only slaves do be giving heed to the day that's gone or the day to come — until they're old like me.”
Eugene O'Neill (1888–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To me, if you are in the same building with Peter Sellers or John Cleese, or any of those guys and holding your own making other people laugh, that’s a compliment.”
Alice Cooper (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Broadway audiences are dependably square. "Well, I'll be a son of a bitch" always gets a laugh; spoken by a little old lady, it brings down the house.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Theatre audiences can't be made to think and cry: at best, they can be made to think and laugh, or to feel and cry.”
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So I watched the Pink Panther last night, and so I'm trying desperately to be funny, and then it's just not working out so good... I wonder if maybe I could've been a comedian or something like that, or maybe I could've been a doctor, then I wouldn't have to make anyone laugh.”
Dave Matthews (born 1967) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Intro to "Dancing Nancies", Live at Luther College (1999)
“If but some vengeful god would call to me From up the sky, and laugh: "Thou suffering thing, Know that thy sorrow is my ecstasy, That thy love's loss is my hate's profiting!”
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) first seen 1866 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hap", ll. 1-4 (1866)
“We used to laugh a lot But only because we thought That everything good always would remain Nothing's gonna change there's no need to complain.”
Jack Johnson (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The dullest was struck by the contrast between the harsh, taciturn, gloomy commander, and the pirate whose laugh was gusty and ready, who roared ribald songs in a dozen languages, guzzled ale like a toper, and—apparently—had no thought for the morrow.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Civilized men laugh," said Conan. "But not one can tell me how Zogar Sag can call pythons and tigers and leopards out of the wilderness and make them do his bidding. They would say it is a lie, if they dared. That's the way with civilized men. When they can't explain something by their half-baked science, they refuse to believe it.”
Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“one of the wonderful things, in spite of all the terrible things that happen in South Africa, is the way people continue to keep their dignity. They continue to love, to laugh, to get pleasure out of life.”
Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alec, what do you believe in? Don’t laugh—tell me.” She waited and at last he said: “I believe an eleven bus will take me to Hammersmith. I don’t believe it’s driven by Father Christmas.”
John le Carré (1931–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we get there, We're going to fly so far away Making sure to laugh while we experience Anti-gravity.”
Brandon Boyd (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.”
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) first seen 1748 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 9 March 1748
“You laugh at the North, you think they’re all funny little short people who live in a big pie. Trying to sort out their relationship with the definite article. Throwing darts at their dinner.”
Dylan Moran (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The characteristic poetic strategy of our time — refine your singularities — is something Auden has not learned; so his best poems are very peculiarly good, nearly the most interesting poems of our time. When he writes badly, we can afford to be angry at him, and he can afford to laugh at us.”
Randall Jarrell (1914–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pretend to be friendly. Eat with them. Laugh with them. When they are sated and trust you, attack them, kill all their men and kidnap their women and children!”
Cornstalk (1710–1777) said by 1777 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.”
Langston Hughes (1901–1967) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I, Too", in the magazine Survey Graphic (March 1925); reprinted in Selected Poems (1959); it is also often referred to as "I, Too, Sing America
“To laugh, if but for an instant only, has never been granted to man before the fortieth day from his birth, and then it is looked upon as a miracle of precocity.”
Pliny the Elder (20–79) said by 79 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Not living in fear is a great gift, because certainly these days we do it so much. And do you know what I like about comedy? You can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time—of anything. If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid.”
Stephen Colbert (born 1964) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Parade interview (23 September 2007)
“I used to stutter badly when I was a child. And it’s something — if you know anybody who stuttered, it’s a very debilitating thing. If I told you that I used to talk — t- — t- — t- — to talk like that, people will smile. But if I told you I had a clubfoot when I was kid that was fixed, no one would laugh about it.”
Joe Biden (born 1942) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks by President Biden at Banquet Dinner", Whitehouse.gov, (13 April 2023)
“Prosperity doth bewitch men, seeming clear; But seas do laugh, show white, when rocks are near.”
John Webster (1578–1634) said by 1634 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Painting for me is merely a means of forgetting life. It is a cry in the night. A sob broken off. A strangled laugh.”
Georges Rouault (1871–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Toulouse Lautrec (1960) by by Henri Perruchot, translated by Humphrey Hare; The World Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, p. 51 (PDF format)
“[Ognev] recalled endless, heated, purely Russian arguments, when the wranglers, spraying spittle and banging their fists on the table, fail to understand yet interrupt one another, themselves not even noticing it, contradict themselves with every phrase, change the subject, then, having argued for two or three hours, begin to laugh.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) first seen 1887 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Verotchka (1887)
“There should be more sincerity and heart in human relations, more silence and simplicity in our interactions. Be rude when you’re angry, laugh when something is funny, and answer when you’re asked.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) first seen 1888 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his brother, A.P. Chekhov (October 13, 1888)
“Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.”
“We sent him down at last, out of the way. Unwounded; — stout lad, too, before that strafe. Malingering? Stretcher-bearers winked, 'Not half!' Next day I heard the Doc.'s well-whiskied laugh: 'That scum you sent last night soon died. Hooray!'”
Wilfred Owen (1893–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poet, never chase the dream. Laugh yourself and turn away. Mask your hunger, let it seem Small matter if he come or stay; But when he nestles in your hand at last, Close up your fingers tight and hold him fast.”
Robert Graves (1895–1985) said by 1985 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For still the world prevail'd, and its dread laugh, Which scarce the firm philosopher can scorn.”
James Thomson (poet, born 1700) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: James Thomson
“As we jogg on, either laugh with me, or at me, or in short do any thing—only keep your temper.”
Laurence Sterne (1713–1768) said by 1768 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Tis a strange calling!” muttered Hawkeye, with an inward laugh, “to go through life, like a catbird, mocking all the ups and downs that may happen to come out of other men's throats.”
James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) said by 1851 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let others laugh when you sacrifice desire to duty, if they will. You have time and eternity to rejoice in.”
Theodore Parker (1810–1860) said by 1860 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Checklist For Life For Moms (2005) by Thomas Nelson Publishers, p. 139.
“On the laugh of a child I am borne to the joy of the King.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love's immortality so blind Dreams that all things with it conjoined Must share with it immortal day: But not of this—but not of this— The touch, the eyes, the laugh, the kiss, Fall from it and it goes its way.”
George William Russell (1867–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Dr.] Riario’s laugh was harsh. “I hate smallpox, and even more I hate being helpless against it. If it’s God’s curse as they say, why, I curse God back for it.”
Harry Turtledove (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A good laugh, Covenant sighed morosely. Did I do a whole life’s laughing in that little time?”
Stephen R. Donaldson (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I look for a man who is very confident. I like intelligent and am drawn to men with a strong science background. I think the only conventionally handsome guy I have ever been attracted to was Steve McQueen, but that was just his tough guy thing. I love European guys and I LOVE Firemen! I love a guy who can do crazy things with me and laugh, and did I mention that I love Firemen.”
Tera Patrick (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some guys think I'm a racist because I never did a scene with a black or Asian guy ... I just laugh.”
Tera Patrick (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To James's intimates, however, these elaborate hesitancies, far from being an obstacle, were like a cobweb bridge flung from his mind to theirs, an invisible passage over which one knew that silver-footed ironies, veiled jokes, tiptoe malices, were stealing to explode a huge laugh at one's feet.”
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Description of a stuffed mouse dressed as a graffiti artist that Banksy snuck into the London Museum as an exhibit:] "The Banksus Militius is a virulent pest that marks its territory with a series of elaborate signs. Professor R Langford of University College of London states, 'Laugh now but one day they may well be in charge'.”