Quotes by James Thurber

About James Thurber:

James Grover Thurber was an American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright, and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in The New Yorker magazine and collected in his numerous books. One of the most popular humorists of his time, Thurber celebrated the comic frustrations and eccentricities of ordinary people. In collaboration with his college friend, Elliott Nugent, he wrote the Broadway comedy, The Male Animal, later adapted into a film, which starred Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?

James Thurber

The animals that depend on instinct have an inherent knowledge of the laws of economics and of how to apply them; Man, with his powers of reason, has reduced economics to the level of a farce which is at once funnier and more tragic than Tobacco Road...

James Thurber

Love is what you've been through with somebody.

James Thurber

Love is the strange bewilderment that overtakes one person on account of another person.

James Thurber

The difference between our decadence and the Russians' is that while theirs is brutal, ours is apathetic.

James Thurber

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.

James Thurber

One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.

James Thurber

I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.

James Thurber

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.

James Thurber

There are two kinds of light - the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.

James Thurber

My opposition to Interviews lies in the fact that offhand answers have little value or grace of expression, and that such oral give and take helps to perpetuate the decline of the English language.

James Thurber

Laughter need not be cut out of anything, since it improves everything.

James Thurber

Early to rise and early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy, and dead.

James Thurber

Sophistication might be described as the ability to cope gracefully with a situation involving the presence of a formidable menace to one's poise and prestige (such as the butler, or the man under the bed - but never the husband).

James Thurber

Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?

James Thurber

There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception.

James Thurber

It is better to have loafed and lost, than never to have loafed at all.

James Thurber

Sixty minutes of thinking of any kind is bound to lead to confusion and unhappiness.

James Thurber

It's a naive domestic Burgundy without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption.

James Thurber

Discussion in America means dissent.

James Thurber

I am not a cat man, but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp, vindictive glance.

James Thurber

Author Bio

  • NameJames Thurber
  • DescriptionAmerican cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright
  • BornDecember 18, 1894
  • DiedNovember 2, 1961
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionJournalist; Writer; Novelist
  • WorksMy World And Welcome To It