Not only the grounds of the opinion are forgotten in the absence of discussion, but too often the meaning of the opinion itself. . . Instead of a vivid conception and a living belief, there remain only a few phrases retained by rote; or, if any part, the shell and husk only of the meaning is retained, the finer essence being lost.
There are certain phrases in books of mine, and I don't know where they came from, or how I was capable of thinking up these formulations. It's only in the heat of composition that these things occur to you.
'Haunted by the past' is a commonplace phrase because it's a commonplace experience. Even if one is not, strictly speaking, 'haunted', the past is perpetually with one in the present, and the longer it grows and the further it recedes the stronger its presence seems to become.
I think, as we go through life, we can sometimes, while still staying essentially true to ourselves, pick up mannerisms or modes of expression that are like curlicues. And there was a lot of that that I recognized sometimes. And I remembered, sometimes dimly, why those phrases felt so tasty to me, why that particular curl felt so good to me. But from my point of view now, it was almost inaccurate. It changed the meaning of what I was saying in a way that it seemed like a distortion.
The control of nature is a phrase conceived in arrogance.
Sometimes when an idea flashes, you distrust it because it seems too easy. You qualify it with all kinds of evasive phrases because you’re timid about it. But often, this turns out to be the best idea of all.
The phrase ‘popular science’ has in itself a touch of absurdity. That knowledge which is popular is not scientific.
Gratitude is best and most effective when it does not evaporate itself in empty phrases.
When someone has the wit to coin a useful phrase, it ought to be acclaimed and broadcast or it will perish.
Fine phrases I value more than bank-notes. I have ear for no other harmony than the harmony of words. To be occasionally quoted is the only fame I care for.
I think I invented the phrase 'Don't overdo it. '
I'm everlastin, I can go on for days and days With rhyme displays that engrave deep as X-rays I can take a phrase that's rarely heard, FLIP IT Now it's a daily word
Oft from new truths, and new phrase, new doubts grow, As strange attire aliens the men we know.
I have made up thousands of stories; I have filled innumerable notebooks with phrases to be used when I have found the true story, the one story to which all these phrases refer. But I have never yet found the story. And I begin to ask, Are there stories?
I am stronger than I thought I was. My favorite phrase has been 'This too shall pass. ' I now understand it really well.
The best timed joke or the best timed phrase comes at spontaneous moments and just relies on me as the host to be very quick, and that's what I do.
A family with the wrong members in control; that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase.
I am tied down with single words. But you wander off; you slip away; you rise up higher, with words and words in phrases.
Governments have a favorite phrase: lean and mean. But theyve been made very, very fat for corporate interests.
Do you know what the costliest phrase in technology is? 'It will work because it would be cool if it did. '