“I sometimes compare press officers to riflemen on the Somme — mowing down wave upon wave of distortion, taking out rank upon rank of supposition, deduction and gossip.”

Confidentiality is the nature of all governments. Of course you may say, the government will always want to communicate the good news; things which bring satisfaction, cheer, help or pleasure to voters. And of course, you are right, governments are not masochists by nature.

The media … is like an oil painting. Close up, it looks like nothing on Earth. Stand back and you get the drift.

Blood sport is brought to its ultimate refinement in the gossip columns.

Some women collect gossip, the way other collect jewelry.

Not everyone repeats gossip. Everyone improves upon it.

Quit sharing bad news and gossip you aren’t a garbage truck.

Dine on little, and sup on less.

Fiction basically is a form of gossip where you want to enter other people’s lives, the lives of people you don’t know, and you want to know what’s going to happen to them.

Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life’s artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.

Less gossiping, more learning. Less complaining, more excelling. Less walls, more bridges. Less fear, more courage.

I don’t like to go in places where women talk and gossip. The atmosphere I don’t like, even though you can sometimes meet nice people. For me, it’s a waste of time.