The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (454 page)
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Authors: Elizabeth Knowles
1874–1952
Something had been done for us which, after two thousand years of hope and yearning, would at last give us a resting-place in this terrible world.
of the Balfour declaration
speech in Jerusalem, 25 November 1936.
1881–1933
"Turbot, Sir," said the waiter, placing before me two fishbones, two eyeballs, and a bit of black mackintosh.
The Dinner Knell
(1932) "Birmingham or Crewe?"
1931–
The life and loves of a she-devil.
title of novel (1984)
Every time you open your wardrobe, you look at your clothes and you wonder what you are going to wear. What you are really saying is "Who am I going to be today?"
in
New Yorker
26 June 1995
1915–85
The biggest electric train set any boy ever had!
of the RKO studios
Peter Noble
The Fabulous Orson Welles
(1956) ch. 7
1769–1852
As Lord Chesterfield said of the generals of his day, "I only hope that when the enemy reads the list of their names, he trembles as I do."
usually quoted as, "I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me"
letter, 29 August 1810, in
Supplementary Despatches…
(1860) vol. 6
Up Guards and at them!
letter from an officer in the Guards, 22 June 1815, in
The Battle of Waterloo
by a Near Observer [J. Booth] (1815); later denied by Wellington
Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained.
in
Diary of Frances, Lady Shelley 1787–1817
(ed. R. Edgcumbe, 1912) vol. 1
Publish and be damned.
replying to a blackmail threat prior to the publication of Harriette Wilson's Memoirs (1825)
attributed; Elizabeth Longford
Wellington: The Years of the Sword
(1969) ch. 10
I used to say of him that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men.
of Napoleon
Philip Henry Stanhope
Notes of Conversations with the Duke of Wellington
(1888) 2 November 1831
Ours is composed of the scum of the earth—the mere scum of the earth.
of the army
Philip Henry Stanhope
Notes of Conversations with the Duke of Wellington
(1888) 4 November 1831
I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life.
on seeing the first Reformed Parliament, 1832
William Fraser
Words on Wellington
(1889)
The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.
oral tradition, but probably apocryphal; the earliest reference is a remark said to have been made when revisiting Eton.
An extraordinary affair. I gave them their orders and they wanted to stay and discuss them.
of his first Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister
attributed; Peter Hennessy
Whitehall
(1990)
1866–1946
He had read Shakespeare and found him weak in chemistry.
Complete Short Stories
(1927) "Lord of the Dynamos"
"Sesquippledan," he would say. "Sesquippledan verboojuice."
The History of Mr Polly
(1909) ch. 1, pt. 5.
The Social Contract is nothing more or less than a vast conspiracy of human beings to lie to and humbug themselves and one another for the general Good. Lies are the mortar that bind the savage individual man into the social masonry.
Love and Mr Lewisham
(1900) ch. 23
The shape of things to come.
title of book (1933)
The war that will end war.
title of book (1914).
God damn you all: I told you so.
suggestion for his own epitaph, in conversation with Ernest Barker, 1939
Ernest Barker
Age and Youth
(1953)