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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“I think that comedians, more than any other type of celebrity, have to keep their humour and keep their feet on the ground. If they start taking themselves too seriously, they're heading for a fall.”
Jimmy Carr (born 1972) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Charles Hutchinson (19 November 2004) "Preview: Jimmy Carr , Grand Opera House, York November 20", North Yorkshire County Publications.
“I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humour.”
Edward Albee (1928–2016) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1961)
“Fate will not bend to humour man’s caprice, So vaunt not human powers but hold your peace, Here must we stay, weighed down with grief for this, That we were born so late, so soon decease.”
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hitler was on the whole quiet and restrained, except now and again when he got excited; over Russia or the Press. I can quite see why he is a popular speaker; very much alive, eyes, which I was surprised were blue, moving about all the time, points in the argument reinforced by sharp gestures of the hands. And the play of emotion—sardonic humour, scorn, something almost wistful—is rapid.”
Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (1881–1959) first seen 1937 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary entry (19 November 1937), quoted in Lord Halifax, Fulness of Days (1957), pp. 188
“2915. Suffer a Friend to reprove thee, and thank him heartily for it : 'Tis a Happiness for a Man that he can be reproved when he does amiss, and be recalled when he runs wrong. Princes are deprived of that Benefit : for they converse familiarly but with very few Persons, and those make it their only Business to humour them.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“903. Better have an old Man to humour, than a young Rake to break your Heart.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Recall, what he had told the Tibetans—that India would help diplomatically. That help now has come to mean that India will keep China in good humour even as it crushes Tibet, so that it may not crush Tibet more swiftly.”
Arun Shourie (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What if a sense of humour is like hair — something a lot of man lose as they get older?”
Nick Hornby (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Headmaster: Mark my words, when a society has to resort to the lavatory for its humour, the writing is on the wall.”
Alan Bennett (born 1934) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As a result we shall have the necessary variety of clothes, even if the people of a given city lack the imagination themselves. The happiness of our Futurist clothes will help to spread the kind of good humour aimed at by my great friend PaIazzeschi in his futurist 'Manifesto against Sadness'.”
Giacomo Balla (1871–1958) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (Manuscript, 1913); as quoted at dekorera.tumblr: futurist manifesto of men's clothing
“A man must have something to grumble about; and if he can’t complain that his wife harries him to death with her perversity and ill-humour, he must complain that she wears him out with her kindness and gentleness.”
Anne Brontë (1820–1849) said by 1849 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think often, and never without a certain fear of Nessim's love for Justine. [-] It coloured his unhappiness with a kind of ecstasy [-] Yet one touch of humour would have saved him from such dreadful comprehensive suffering.”
Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Never say a humorous thing to a man who does not possess humour: he will always use it in evidence against you.”
Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Standing in the market square, so alive but void of life, We work and we sweat and we struggle through each day. As our efforts scar our hands, this world stains us with demands. It’s hard to see life’s humour in the business games we play. As we gnaw our nails with stress, our fists and hearts pound so carelessly. With every effort forward, how much more can we digress?”
Dawud Wharnsby (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A careful and sympathetic sense of humour can also be a great asset when there is need to get out of difficult situations gracefully.”
John Allen Fraser (1931–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They won’t put up a statue to me. No, no, no. Nobody’s got that sense of humour".”
Robert Muldoon (1921–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Source: From the documentary Robert Muldoon: The Grim Face of Power, 1994
“Dissent is a legitimate and essential right in any democracy and modern politicians must accept this fact with tolerance. A sense of proportion — and a sense of humour — is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness.”
Sting (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lucid gems are made of water; just as Crystal, which has been concreted from clear water, not always by a very great cold, as some used to judge, and by very hard frost, but sometimes by a less severe one, the nature of the soil fashioning it, the humour or juices being shut up in definite cavities, in the way in which spars are produced in mines.”
William Gilbert (astronomer) first seen 1900 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: English translation by Silvanus P. Thompson (1900).
“Writing is hard work. Even when you start with the raw ingredients – a mad family, a sense of humour, talent…it’s hard work. But you do get to sit around in silk pyjamas all day.”
Carole Morin wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I like being described as "Sylvia Plath with a sense of humour." But I wouldn’t marry Ted Hughes. He’s dead for one thing.”
Carole Morin wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ad Aertsen succeeds in allowing his sense of humour to shine through the deep seriousness of his scientific ethos. He also has a very balanced attitude to the question of "theory or experiment".”
Valentino Braitenberg (1926–2011) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Braitenberg cited in: "Ad Aertsen - an expedition into the brain" uni-freiburg.de, 2010
“When drag queen Carlotta agreed to compere and sit for a portrait at an R-rated charity fundraiser in March, she was not prepared for the tool of trade of the artist. The painter was Pricasso, who releases his artistic side by using a particular extremity. Not to put too fine a point on it (and Pricasso couldnt), Carlotta hovered between humour and horror as her portrait came to life.”
“The new "humour", if you can call it that, is pure malicious gossip. Instead of making a genuine point, it's now good enough to repeat any ribald story without a thought for whether it's even true.”
Lindsey Davis (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But as Cowley was apt to be a little out of humour between whiles, let us hear the honourable, pious, and sweet-tempered Mr. Boyle, who, among the troubles of life, enumerates as one “the business of receiving senseless visits, whose continuance, if otherwise unavoidable, is capable, in my opinion, to justify the retiredness of a hermit.”
George Horne (1730–1792) said by 1792 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the armoury of man, charm is the enchanted dart, light and subtle as a hummingbird. But it is deceptive in one thing - like a sense of humour, if you think you've got it, you probably haven't.”
Laurie Lee (1914–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You ought to regulate your manner of behaviour towards others, not according to your own humour, but agreeably to the pleasure and inclination of those with whom you converse.”
Giovanni della Casa (1503–1556) said by 1556 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ideology is all there is.” “Really? I would have thought there were many other human qualities worth considering. Fairness. Generosity. A sense of humour. A willingness to see the best in people, even those we do not automatically agree with.”
Alastair Reynolds (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ziyauddin's sarcasm is incisive. Occasionally his sardonic humour helps him to sum up his ideas in a few words. His remark that in Alauddin's days " a camel could be had for a dang," but wherefrom the dang?" - shows at once how the reforms of Alauddin had made articles cheap and people poor.”
K. S. Lal (1920–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am today beginning to understand as I have never understood before, the secret springs of English poetry and English thought and the getting of that wisdom which infuses the slow English character. The green and tranquil place sends forth from her soil the love of peace and of good humour and of contentment.”
Robert Menzies (1894–1978) first seen 1935 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary (11 May 1935), after visiting Cambridgeshire. — Judith Brett, Political Lives (1997), pp. 76–7
“If I have tried to observe the personal courtesies of public life, it is not because I fail to hate the political enemy’s creed. If I have sought to find some humour in the conflict, it is not because I under-estimate the gravity of the battle. The best years of my life have been given to what I deeply believe is a struggle for freedom.”
Robert Menzies (1894–1978) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1949 election campaign speech delivered in Melbourne (10 November 1949)
“Again, it's fine to not agree with someone's sense of humour, but calling me a fascist, how is that helping anyone?”
“But these quiet people, in their animal skin clothes with their diet of sago, were not to be left alone to wander through the lush jungles, living off the land, leaving no mark when they moved on, teaching their children the secrets of the forest. The greed of others could not co-exist with the selflessness of the Penan with their gentle humour and generous hearts.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It would be obviously unfair to describe the Chinese people as wanting in humour simply because they are tickled by jests which leave us comparatively unmoved. Few of our own most amusing stories will stand conversion into Chinese terms.”
Herbert Giles (1845–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O thou Powers of England, though thou hast promised to make this People a Free People, yet thou hast so handled the matter, through thy self-seeking humour, That thou has wrapped us up more in bondage, and oppression lies heavier upon us; not only bringing thy fellow Creatures, the Commoners, to a morsel of Bread, but by confounding all sorts of people by thy Government, of doing and undoing.”
Gerrard Winstanley (1609–1676) said by 1676 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Humour is absolutely the lens through which I perceive the world”
Petina Gappah (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is hard not to find humour in Zimbabwe’s politics and current state of absurdity”
Petina Gappah (born 1971) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On what she typically writes about in “Exclusive interview: Petina Gappah speaks about the highs and lows of her writing career, and reveals details of her next book” in the Johannesburg Review of Books (2017 Sep 4)
“I always end up working with writers with a twisted sense of humour and a fine sense of warped violence. And that's right up my strasse.”
Steve Dillon (1962–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I set out to assist two amazing filmmakers Sai Paranjpye and Kalpana Lajmi, both torchbearers of qualitative cinema. Through them I had a solid foundation to understand cinema and its intricacies. With Sai Paranjpye I learnt to use everyday humour, and with Kalpana Lajmi I learnt how to envisage a grand mise-en-scène. (After completing a course in film appreciation at FTII Pune)”
Kalpana Lajmi (1954–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: SWAIndia Article - Interview by Dinkar Sharma - Writers can meet, consult, even co-opt community members for LGBTQ+ narratives. - 24 June 2021 - Archive
Also quoted by: Sai Paranjpye
“A filmmaker who could take on serious topics such as racism and intolerance with wit, intelligence and humour, who documented and celebrated Malaysian multiculturalism, exploring its taboos with compassion.”
Yasmin Ahmad (1958–2009) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sister-hood Digital Magazine Article - Yasmin Ahmad 1958-2009 - 10 June 2020 - Archive
“Humour is one of the ways people survive difficult circumstances, and I try not to lose sight of that in my fiction.”
“It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humour in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.”
Betty White (1922–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I definitely feel the world lacks a sense of humour”
Mohale Mashigo (born 1983) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mohale Mashigo interviewed by Kathie Birat 30 October, 2020
“I would like to do a movie about my mum... The story’s got romance. It’s got conflict. It’s got humour and lots of drama. It’s always been a little dream of mine to make the film. She’s been through so much and I learned from my mum that when you have the power to help and give back, you must.”
Coco Lee (1975–2023) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (~2015)
“Sex is a part of life. I think pleasure's really important. I feel that our queer and trans cultural heritage is to prioritise pleasure and self-fulfilment, self-knowledge and art and humour – those seem like really good things to me.”
Andrea Lawlor (born 1971) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview in The Guardian (2019)
“Perhaps what attracts me about my Jewish past and present is an awareness of its vividness, its colour and its grotesqueness, the same awareness that makes real Jews a minor race with a major sense of humour, with their ordinary cruelty, their unfortunate tenderness and their occasional shamelessness. (Prologue)”
Margo Glantz (born 1930) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The underlying tone of existence is harmless humour.”
Þórbergur Þórðarson (1888–1974) said by 1974 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even when people express views outside your own country, and even when those people are very influential – and trust me, I say this with all humour – if American democracy can survive ten years of Greta Thunberg's scolding you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”
J.D. Vance (born 1984) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany (February 14, 2025), as cited in "Read: JD Vance’s full speech on the fall of Europe", The Spectator (London, February 14, 2025) (Archive save)
“If our witches' phantasies were not corrupted, nor their wits confounded with this humour, they would not so voluntarilie and readilie confesseth that which calleth their life into question.”
Reginald Scot (1537–1599) first seen 1584 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), Ch. 11
“Ciao Darwin also tells trash, but it does so consciously and using humour. Whereas there are many programmes that are convinced they are telling something else but are actually trash.”
Paolo Bonolis (born 1961) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the interview of Cinzia Marongiu, Paolo Bonolis: "Io, amato e criticato. La mia tv è trash? Ecco con chi sto tra seguaci del "Family Day" e mondo gay", Tiscali.it, 22 March 2019
“… I had to read [the script for the first episode of Flying Circus] several times in order to try and make some sense of it. The sketches ended strangely or sometimes didn't seem to end at all! Others had an odd beginning too. It certainly wasn't the sort of humour I was used to and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it all.”
Carol Cleveland (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source