English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education - sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street.

Quote by E B White

Topics: E B White Quotes

A writer is like a bean plant - he has his little day, and then...

A writer is like a bean plant - he has his little day, and then...

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.

A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense...

A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense...

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a...

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a...

I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.

I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.

It is easier for a man to be loyal to his club than to his...

It is easier for a man to be loyal to his club than to his...

Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.

Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.

The trouble with the profit system has always been that it was highly unprofitable to...

The trouble with the profit system has always been that it was highly unprofitable to...

Whatever else an American believes or disbelieves about himself, he is absolutely sure he has...

Whatever else an American believes or disbelieves about himself, he is absolutely sure he has...

Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.

Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.

Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.

Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.

I can only assume that your editorial writer tripped over the First Amendment and thought...

I can only assume that your editorial writer tripped over the First Amendment and thought...

An intelligence service is, in fact, a stupidity service

An intelligence service is, in fact, a stupidity service

Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the...

Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the...

The critic leaves at curtain fall To find, in starting to review it, He scarcely...

The critic leaves at curtain fall To find, in starting to review it, He scarcely...

The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but...

The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but...

The siren south is well enough, but New York, at the beginning of March, is...

The siren south is well enough, but New York, at the beginning of March, is...

One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.

One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy.

The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a war.

The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a war.

I don't know which is more discouraging, literature or chickens.

I don't know which is more discouraging, literature or chickens.