black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

I was seized by the stern hand of Compulsion, that dark, unreasonable Urge that impels women to clean house in the middle of the night.

James Thurber

The things we laugh at are awful while they are going on, but get funny when we look back. And other people laugh because they’ve been through it too. The closest thing to humor is tragedy.
JAMES THURBER

Laughter People Tragedy
Somebody has said that woman’s place is in the wrong. That’s fine. What the wrong needs is a woman’s presence and a woman’s touch. She is far better equipped than men to set it right.
JAMES THURBER

Place Presence Right Woman Wrong
One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.
JAMES THURBER

Alcohol Drink Enough Right
All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.
JAMES THURBER

Death Learning Man Strive Wisdom
I don’t believe the writer should know too much where he’s going. If he does, he runs into old man blueprintold man propaganda.
JAMES THURBER

Believe Man Myself Old Writing
So much has already been written about everything that you can’t find out anything about it.
JAMES THURBER

Finding Writing Yourself
If you wonder which is the stronger sex, watch which one twists the other around her little finger.
JAMES THURBER

Herself Man Sex Strong Woman Wonder
Americans want to go to heaven without dying.
JAMES THURBER

Death Deep Heaven Hypocrisy Sarcasm
The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.
JAMES THURBER

Allow Fear Humor Nation Possession Regard Suspect Writing
Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.
JAMES THURBER

Chaos Emotional Humor Remember Tranquility
She wasn’t much to look at but she was something to think about.
JAMES THURBER

Instagram Captions Philosophy Thinking
I have lived in the East for nearly thirty years now, but many of my books prove that I am never very far away from Ohio in my thoughts, and that the clocks that strike in my dreams are often the clocks of Columbus.
JAMES THURBER

Book Dreams Evidence Live Myself Thinking
You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.
JAMES THURBER

Fools People Time Yourself
The dog has got more fun out of Man than Man has got out of the dog, for the clearly demonstrable reason that Man is the more laughable of the two animals
JAMES THURBER

Animal Dog Fun Laughter Man Reason
Boys are beyond the range of anybody’s sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years.
JAMES THURBER

Behavior Man Mindset Understand
I was seized by the stern hand of Compulsion, that dark, unreasonable Urge that impels women to clean house in the middle of the night.
JAMES THURBER

Cleaning Hands Night Reason
Comedy has to be done en clair. You can’t blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear.
JAMES THURBER

Clear Comedy Famous Imagination Point
I always begin at the left with the opening word of the sentence and read toward the right and I recommend this method.
JAMES THURBER

Beginning Method Myself Open Word
When all things are equal, translucence in writing is more effective than transparency, just as glow is more revealing than glare.
JAMES THURBER

Effective Equality Reveal Writing
There is something about a poet which leads us to believe that he died, in many cases, as long as 20 years before his birth.
JAMES THURBER

Believe Born Leadership Poet
The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound, and the future is anybody’s guess.
JAMES THURBER

Future Guess Past Sound
Don’t get it right, just get it written.
JAMES THURBER

Right Writing
Women are wiser than men because they know less and understand more.
JAMES THURBER

Understand Wisdom Woman Yourself
Sixty minutes of thinking of any kind is bound to lead to confusion and unhappiness.
JAMES THURBER

Confusion Happiness Thinking
Humourists lead… an existence of jumpiness and apprehension. They sit on the edge of the chair of Literature. In the house of Life they have the feeling that they have never taken off their overcoats.
JAMES THURBER

Edge Existence Literature
The trouble with the lost generation is that it didn’t get lost enough.
JAMES THURBER

Enough Generation Lost Trouble
Things have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires; I have lost friends, some by death… others through sheer inability to cross the street.
JAMES THURBER

Cross Desire Friendship Lost Street

I was seized by the stern hand of Compulsion, that dark, unreasonable Urge that impels women to clean house in the middle of the night.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

I was seized by the stern hand of Compulsion, that dark, unreasonable Urge that impels women to clean house in the middle of the night.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More James Thurber Quotes