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).

Quote by James Thurber

Topics: James Thurber Quotes

Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our...

Humor is a serious thing. I like to think of it as one of our...

Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some...

Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some...

But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter...

But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter...

Speed is scarcely the noblest virtue of graphic composition, but it has its curious rewards....

Speed is scarcely the noblest virtue of graphic composition, but it has its curious rewards....

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

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

Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between...

Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between...

Man has gone long enough, or even too long, without being man enough to face...

Man has gone long enough, or even too long, without being man enough to face...

Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty-eight and forty

Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty-eight and forty

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else.

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else.

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather...

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather...

Some American writers who have known each other for years have never met in the...

Some American writers who have known each other for years have never met in the...

Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a...

Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a...

The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound,...

The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound,...

The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those...

The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those...

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

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

Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or...

Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or...

Love is composed of so many sensations, that something new of it can always be...

Love is composed of so many sensations, that something new of it can always be...

Self-love exaggerates our faults as well as our virtues.

Self-love exaggerates our faults as well as our virtues.

The pleasure of love is in loving.

The pleasure of love is in loving.

Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are.

Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are.