Subject: Characteristics (Page 41)

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

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

To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler – and less trouble.

Samuel Clemens (1835 – 1910) author & humorist
Characteristics Problems Situations

In any group of eagles, you will find some turkeys.

Characteristics Murphy’s Laws

A diplomat is a man who thinks twice before he says nothing.

(1822 – 1891) U.S. senator (South Carolina)
Characteristics Government

It is well-known what a middleman is; he is a man who bamboozles one party and plunders the other.

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

A bad temper, like Mr. Whistler's paintings, should never be displayed in public.

(1854 – 1900) Irish dramatist, novelist & poet
Characteristics Reviews/Criticism

Sooner or later, I'll be punctual.

(1933 – ) English author & cartoonist
Characteristics Time

Even snakes are afraid of snakes.

(1955 – ) comedian, actor & writer
Animals Characteristics Fear

When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.

(1947 – ) author, humorist & satirist
Characteristics Government Money Politics

Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she thinks of him a year afterward, and you will have the truth about him.

(1880 – 1956) journalist, essayist, editor & satirist
Characteristics Husbands Marriage Time Truth Wives

I felt as out of place as a left-handed violinist in a crowded string section.

(1919 – 1985) Scottish comedian & actor
Characteristics Situations

Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results.

(1957 – ) cartoonist (Dilbert)
Characteristics Failure Intelligence Mistakes People

Intuition: That strange instinct that tells a woman she is right, whether she is or not.

Characteristics Definitions People Women

Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.

(1903 – 1966) English writer
Characteristics

An optimist thinks this is the best of all worlds; a pessimist fears the same may be true.

(1926 – ) newspaper columnist
Characteristics People

Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.

(1709 – 1784) English author, essayist, critic, editor & lexicographer
Characteristics

Style, is like a frog:  you can dissect the thing, but it somehow dies in process.

writer
Characteristics

There are some people that if they don’t know, you can’t tell ‘em.

(1901 – 1971) American jazz trumpeter and singer
Characteristics People

The two women exchanged the kind of glance women use when no knife is handy.

(1905 – 1982) American mystery writer (co-author of Ellery Queen stories
Characteristics People Women

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.

(1842 – 1914) author & satirist
Anger Characteristics Communication Speech