My Go To Woman ~ Dorothy Parker

There’s days when I need Dorothy Parker to entertain me and this is one of them. No matter what, she’ll change the subject, bring a smile, a shake of the head or pure wonderment.

Honesty means nothing until you are tested under circumstances where you are sure you could get away with dishonesty. (Dorothy Parker)

 

Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye. (Dorothy Parker)

 

Time may be a great healer but it’s a lousy beautician. (Dorothy Parker)

 

There’s a hell of a difference between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words. (Dorothy Parker)

 

That woman speaks eighteen languages and can’t say ‘No’ in any of them. Dorothy Parker).

 

 

 

Fun with Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker, who is one of the people I most admire for her brilliant wit, was born on this day in  New Jersey in 1893.

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
Source: Wikipedia

No matter what’s going on, a dip into the quotable quotes of Dorothy Parker always makes me chuckle. Here are  a few of my favourites:

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”

“The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity.”

“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.”

“What fresh hell is this?”

“Brevity is the soul of lingerie.”

“That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can’t say ‘No’ in any of them.”

“Women and elephants never forget.”

“She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.”

A world without Dorothy Parker would have been so much duller.  Tell me about your favourite quote from her. 

P.S. The quote that was a constant part of my growing up was ‘What fresh hell is this,’ which my late mother would whisper with a glint in her eye when a knock would come at the door just as we were starting a meal or in the middle of watching something special like The Grand National!

 

 

 

Oscar Wilde ~ Words from the Past

Today is the anniversary of Oscar Wilde who died,  at the young age of 46, in 1900.

Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)

I can’t but think today of the great words of wit and wisdom which  are part of  this Irishman’s vast legacy. Here are some of my favourites:

‘When people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.’

‘We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.’

‘I dislike arguments of any kind. They are always vulgar, and often convincing.’

‘There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel no one else  has a right to blame us.’

‘The well bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.’

‘The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.’

‘To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.’ 

‘Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to  live as one wishes to live.’