The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (265 page)

Lawson, Nigel
1932–

1
It represented the tip of a singularly ill-concealed iceberg, with all the destructive potential that icebergs possess.
of an article by Alan Walters, Margaret Thatcher's economic adviser, criticizing the Exchange Rate Mechanism

in the House of Commons following his resignation as Chancellor, 31 October 1989

 
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Lazarus, Emma
1849–87

1
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
inscription on the Statue of Liberty, New York

"The New Colossus" (1883)

 
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Leacock, Stephen
1869–1944

1
Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it.

Garden of Folly
(1924) "The Perfect Salesman"

2
I am what is called a
professor emeritus
—from the Latin
e
, "out", and
meritus
, "so he ought to be".

Here are my Lectures
(1938) ch. 14

3
A sportsman is a man who, every now and then, simply has to get out and kill something. Not that he's cruel. He wouldn't hurt a fly. It's not big enough.

My Remarkable Uncle
(1942)

 
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Leapor, Mary
1722–46

1
In spite of all romantic poets sing,
This gold, my dearest, is an useful thing.

"Mira to Octavia"

 
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Lear, Edward
1812–88

1
Who, or why, or which, or what,
Is the Akond of Swat?

"The Akond of Swat" (1888)

2
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared!—
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!"

A Book of Nonsense
(1846)

3
On the coast of Coromandel
Where the early pumpkins blow,
In the middle of the woods,
Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bó.

"The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bó" (1871)

4
The Dong with a luminous nose.

title of poem (1871)

5
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

"The Jumblies" (1871)

6
There was an old man of Thermopylae,
Who never did anything properly.

More Nonsense
(1872) "One Hundred Nonsense Pictures and Rhymes"

7
"How pleasant to know Mr Lear!"
Who has written such volumes of stuff!
Some think him ill-tempered and queer,
But a few think him pleasant enough.

Nonsense Songs
(1871) preface

8
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat.
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

"The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" (1871)

9
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose.

"The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" (1871)

10
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon.

"The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" (1871)

11
The Pobble who has no toes
Had once as many as we;
When they said, "Some day you may lose them all";—
He replied,—"Fish fiddle de-dee!"

"The Pobble Who Has No Toes" (1871)

12
He has gone to fish, for his Aunt Jobiska's
Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!

"The Pobble Who Has No Toes" (1871)

 
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