Favourite quotations

[reohn2]

Bikewaser
Thanks,that makes it clearer.
As for the doping,IMO it's just become much more subtle and cleverer......

[iandriver]

I like my tea the colour of David Dickinson. Anon.

[reohn2]

I like my tea the colour of David Dickinson. Anon.

I had to google him to find out who he was
I'm now committed to a life where I'll never drink tea with milk in it,which isn't so bad as I dont take milk in my tea anyway.
But I do feel sorry for anyone who does take milk in their tea after reading that quotation

[bikerwaser]

On arriving in the UK Gandhi was asked by a reporter : "what do you think of western civilisation ?"

His reply was : " I think it would be a good idea !"

[Cyril Haearn]

I do love work
I can spend hours watching it

Jerome K Jerome

[djnotts]

"It's them that dies'll be the lucky ones."

[[XAP]Bob]

If you can keep your head whilst all about you are losing theirs.... then you haven't fully understood the seriousness of the situation.

[Cyril Haearn]

You can take the boy out of New York [Wales, Scotland...]
But you can't take New York [...] out of the boy

[ferrit worrier]

If at first you don't succeed, don't go parachuting

[profpointy]

I like the Spartan King's reply to a threat from Philip of Macedon "if I enter your city I will raze it"
Reply was short "if"

[djnotts]

A long one here!
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones."
Donald Rumsfeld.

I could never understand the ridicule heaped upon this - it may be inelegant but a simple statement of fact. The mistake is of course the use of "latter" when there are 3 categories!

[thirdcrank]

... I could never understand the ridicule heaped upon this - it may be inelegant but a simple statement of fact. The mistake is of course the use of "latter" when there are 3 categories!

Wasn't it because he was saying it to dodge the question? ie about the stuff that he knew but would rather suppress? The knowns which he wanted to remain as unknown as possible.

[Vorpal]

A long one here!
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones."
Donald Rumsfeld.

I could never understand the ridicule heaped upon this - it may be inelegant but a simple statement of fact. The mistake is of course the use of "latter" when there are 3 categories!

It's quite common in American usage for 'latter' to denote that last item of a list. I don't know if it is considered grammatically correct.

[Audax67]

Chambers cleaves to latter meaning the second of two alternatives, but admits that it does occur in speech as meaning the final item of a list; although it calls such usage "loose".

[Cyril Haearn]

I love Israel, but I do not like it very much
Amos Oz