# Favorite quotes you know off the top of your head **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591 "2008-10-19T01:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/1 "2008-10-19T01:40:51Z")
(Or, things I post about when my wife is away and I miss her desperately.) Rules are simple: Name the source & author and quote the passage, but do not use any reference other than your own memory. You can tell why you love it if you’re moved to, but it’s not necessary. I’ll begin with one from Beowulf, author obviously unknown: “Then from the mist over the moor-hills came Grendel walking, wearing God’s anger. This was not the first time he had sought the house of Hrothgar and it’s golden halls.” Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/2 "2008-10-19T01:45:53Z")
> [@](#): > > There must be an ideal world, a sort of mathematician’s paradise where everything happens as it does in textbooks. –Bertrand Russell (source: a poster in my bedroom) ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/3 "2008-10-19T01:53:31Z")
“I dunno, isn’t that what they say about God?” “Yeah, but I’ve wondered about him too.” –Bill Watterson It’s been a while since I’ve read my C&H collection, or I’d have, like, 9 others. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/4 "2008-10-19T03:00:20Z")
**[Spoilers for Shawshank Redemption]** "Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne, headed for the Pacific." “I like to think the last thing that went through the warden’s head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how in the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the better of him.” **[Spoilers for Shawshank Redemption]** Man, I love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/5 "2008-10-19T03:18:13Z")
A few offhand : “I kill where I wish and none dare resist” - Smaug. “Goodbye, Citizen Chairman.” - Thomas Theisman ( while pointing a gun at said Chairman’s forehead ) “Oops” - Shannon Foraker “Longer than you think, Dad ! LONGER THAN YOU THINK !” - _Jaunt_, by Stephen King “Come, let us reason together.” - Ringworld series Loius Wu to the Hindmost, after melting his hyperdrive “What are we **thinking**! We’re **villains**! We’ll **cheat**!” - _Villains By Necessity_ “I **did** it thirty-five minutes ago.” - Ozymandius, _Watchmen_ “Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon” - Rorschach, _Watchmen_ “Don’t fuck with the Culture” - the Culture novels “I’m Hawk, and this is Fisher. We’re the law. Scary, isn’t it ?” - Hawk and Fisher novels “That Terminator is out there. It doesn’t know pity, or remorse, or fear, or pain. It can’t be bargained with, it can’t be reasoned with, and it absolutely Will. Not. Stop. Until you are dead !” ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/6 "2008-10-19T03:22:19Z")
Some primeval termite knocked on wood, and tasted it, and found it good. And that is why your cousin May Fell through the parlor floor today. I’m greatly attached to Barbara Frietchie. I bet he scratched when shhe was itchy. Both from Ogden Nash ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/7 "2008-10-19T03:35:29Z")
“Comrade, Comrade ! And I thought you would be a good Communist to the end !” - a vampire, shaking his head sadly and plucking a useless cross from a Communist bureaucrat’s hand "The ancients knew how to deal with us, and did so so thoroughly that we were thought to only be a legend. Until you came, with your radiation, and burned away the stakes and the chains. Nothing human could have survived what you did to the Earth. Nothing human **did**. Now, you will take us to your world, where your people will meet their **new** Masters." - Vampire to an alien ship Captain sent to sterilize Earth by the “Masters”, and who picked up the few “humans” who inexplicably survived “No. I’m going to let you live . . . longer than you want to. . .” - Spawn to the guy who killed him, animated version ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/8 "2008-10-19T03:42:47Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “Comrade, Comrade ! And I thought you would be a good Communist to the end !” > > - a vampire, shaking his head sadly and plucking a useless cross from a Communist bureaucrat’s hand Where’s that one from? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/9 "2008-10-19T03:43:57Z")
_From too much love of living From hope and fear set free We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be; That no life lives forever, That dead men rise up never, That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea._ –Swinburne \*'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe, All mimsy were the borogroves And the mome raths ougtgrabe. Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch Beware the JubJub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch! He took his vorpal sword in hand, long time the manxsome foe he sought Then rested he by the TumTum tree And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whuffling through the tulgey wood And burbled as it came! One two! One two! And through and through His vorpal blade went snicker snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. “And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh, callay!” He chortled in his joy. Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe, All mimsy were the borogroves And the mome raths ougtgrabe.\* Did you know that “Jabberwocky” can be sung perfectly to the tune of “Greensleeves?” It can, try it! _Fury said to a mouse that he met in the house, “Let us both go to law, I will prosecute you! Come, I’ll take no denial, we must have a trial, for really this morning I’ve nothing to do!” Said the mouse to the cur, “Such a trial, dear sir, without jury or judge would be wasting our breath!” “I’ll be judge, I’ll be jury,” said cunning old Fury, “I’ll try the whole cause and condemn you to death!”_ –Both from “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, and Through The Looking Glass” I know quite a lot of “The Walrus and the Carpenter” as well, but not all of it… Don’t even get me started on Monty Python! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/10 "2008-10-19T03:53:03Z")
“Always for everyone everywhere, they put you on that cross, and they nail you to it, and you hang on it and die on it, and if you fall off they beat you to death with a shovel, so do it with dignity, old man.” _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Oddly enough, that one helped me through parts of my first marriage. “Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, I am He whom thou seekest. Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest me.” _The Hound of Heaven_ by Francis Thompson ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/11 "2008-10-19T03:59:04Z")
Of all the gin joints in all the world, why did she have to walk into mine? The stuff dreams are made of. Hi Opal! The rest is silence. The very butcher of a silk button. I spit my last breath in hatred of thee. To die. In the rain. Leave the gun. Take the canoli. There is no try. There is only do, or do not. Saigon. Shit. Forget it Jake. It’s Chinatown. Get your paws off of me, you damn, dirty ape! Rollo Tomasi. I am sick and tired of all these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking airplane! English, motherfucker! Do you speak it! Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. Fly! You fools! Scotty, you’re fired. All we have are wait and hope. You were an apt pupil. A very apt pupil! My name is Ingio Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die! He just vanished into think air. Like a fart in the wind! No prisoners! Bragging points to anyone who can get them all without internet searching. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/12 "2008-10-19T04:02:43Z")
This is the famous Budweiser beer. We know of no brand produced by any other brewer which costs so much to brew and age. Our exclusive Beechwood Aging produces a taste, a smoothness and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price. You can win a few beers by memorizing this, unfortunately, they’ll be Budweisers. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/13 "2008-10-19T04:06:03Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Where’s that one from? From a sci-fi short; don’t recall the title. The Communist in question has used the statistics he’s in charge of examining to deduce the existence of **something** preying upon the citizenry, and managed to deduce “vampires”. Of the non-magic, different-species-of-hominid variety, which is why crosses don’t work. “Poison ?! Do you want to talk about **poison**?! I AM poison !” - Blight, _Batman Beyond_ “Who ARE you ?!” “You killed my father !” “Do you have any IDEA how little that narrows it down ?!” - exchange between Blight and Terry in _Batman Beyond_ “What can mere humans do against us ?” \< sneering \> “Very little. But their **steel jacketed bullets** can do much.” - exchange between two of Mercede’s Lackey’s elves, who react poorly to iron alloy “Oh Father. They DO know what they are doing !” - Reincarnated Jesus, in the Riverworld books as he’s burned at the stake. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/14 "2008-10-19T04:06:26Z")
You told me once that pathos left you unmoved, but that beauty, mere beauty could fill your eyes with tears. I tell you I could hardly see the dear girl with the amount of tears in my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/15 "2008-10-19T04:07:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > From a sci-fi short; don’t recall the title. The Communist in question has used the statistics he’s in charge of examining to deduce the existence of **something** preying upon the citizenry, and managed to deduce “vampires”. Of the non-magic, different-species-of-hominid variety, which is why crosses don’t work. > > “Poison ?! Do you want to talk about **poison**?! I AM poison !” - Blight, _Batman Beyond_ > “Who ARE you ?!” > > “You killed my father !” > > “Do you have any IDEA how little that narrows it down ?!” - exchange between Blight and Terry in _Batman Beyond_ > > “What can mere humans do against us ?” \< sneering \> > > “Very little. But their **steel jacketed bullets** can do much.” - exchange between two of Mercede’s Lackey’s elves, who react poorly to iron alloy Oh I love these quotes because I LOVE Batman Beyond!!! The best written animated show EVER ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/16 "2008-10-19T04:10:39Z")
SOME say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To know that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Robert Frost, Fire and Ice (1920) ---
**Author:** ![trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trapezoidal_jellyfish)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/17 "2008-10-19T04:18:00Z")
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man stupid and blind in the eyes.” in Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card ---
**Author:** ![mambocrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@mambocrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambocrow)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/18 "2008-10-19T04:42:00Z")
“No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public”. H. L. Mencken ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/19 "2008-10-19T05:01:33Z")
The only quote I can think of at the moment is one I heard from a friend a couple weeks ago. “Do whatever floats your boat, so long as you don’t rock mine.” ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591/20 "2008-10-19T05:09:18Z")
“Any damn fool can burn down a barn.” --Bill Clinton “Waiter, taste this soup.” "I’m sorry sir, is it too hot? “Taste the soup” “Is it too cold?” “Taste the soup” “Perhaps you would like me to take it back?” “Taste the soup” “OK, fine. Where’s your spoon?” “a ha!” --Coming to America, I believe [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-quotes-you-know-off-the-top-of-your-head/468591.md?page=2)