Subject: Characteristics (Page 25)

The only advantage of not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are.

(1884 – 1962) diplomat & reformer & first lady
Characteristics People

I would rather be an opportunist and float than go to the bottom with my principles round my neck.

(1867 – 1947) British politician
Characteristics Self

Men and nations will act rationally towards each other only after all other possibilities have been exhausted.

Characteristics Intelligence Murphy’s Laws People

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

(1876 to 1944) German-American painter & lithographer
Characteristics

Nobody ever grew despondent looking for trouble.

(1868 – 1930) cartoonist, humorist & journalist
Characteristics Problems

A bore is one who has the power of speech but not the capacity for conversation.

(1804 – 1881) British prime minister, politician & author
Characteristics Communication Conversation People Speech

The best way to keep one's word is not to give it.

(1769 – 1821) French general & politician
Characteristics

He could sell ice to an Eskimo.

Characteristics Expressions

A woman who strives to be like a man lacks ambition.

Characteristics Men People Women

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier’n puttin’ it back.

Samuel Clemens (1835 – 1910) author & humorist
Animals Cats Characteristics

Admiration: Our feeling of delight that another person resembles us.

(1899 – 1995) humorist
Characteristics People

To find out a girl’s faults, praise her to her girl friends.

(1706 – 1790) American statesman, author, scientist & inventor
Characteristics Friends Old People Women

I know of no sentence that can induce such immediate and brazen lying as the one that begins, "Have you read…"

(1876 – 1933) screenwriter
Characteristics Honesty Lies

As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows, cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.

(1917 – 1998) author, critic, animal rights activist
Animals Cats Characteristics People

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.

(1874 – 1965) British prime minister, politician, statesman & orator
Characteristics Insults Opinion

I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.

(1824 – 1895) French writer
Characteristics Fools Intelligence

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.

(1939 – ) comedian, actress, writer & producer
Characteristics Work

The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it.

(1908 – 1980) businessman, humorist
Characteristics Time

Culture is what your butcher would have if he were a surgeon.

author
Characteristics

It's good to know that if I behave strangely enough, society will take full responsibility for me.

(1933 – ) English author & cartoonist
Characteristics Situations

Duty is what one expects from others, it is not what one does oneself.

(1854 – 1900) Irish dramatist, novelist & poet
Characteristics People