Noël Coward Quotes

“Criticism and Bolshevism have one thing in common. They both seek to pull down that which they could never build.”

“Grab it while you can — grab every scrap of happiness while you can.”

“Having to read footnotes resembles having to go downstairs to answer the door while in the midst of making love.”

“I don't know what London's coming to — the higher the buildings the lower the morals.”

“I have a memory like an elephant. In fact, elephants often consult me.”

“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.”

“I love criticism just so long as it's unqualified praise.”

“I write at high speed because boredom is bad for my health.”

“I'll go and see anything so long as it amuses me, or moves me. If it doesn't do either I want to go home.”

“My importance to the world is relatively small. On the other hand, my importance to myself is tremendous. I am all I have to work with, to play with, to suffer and to enjoy. It is not the eyes of others that I am wary of, but of my own. I do not intend to let myself down more than I can possibly help, and I find that the fewer illusions I have about myself or the world around me, the better company I am for myself.”

“Television is for appearing on - not for looking at.”

“What I adore is supreme professionalism. I’m bored by writers who can write only when it’s raining.”

“Wit ought to be a glorious treat, like caviar. Never spread it about like marmalade.”

“Work hard, do the best you can, don't ever lose faith in yourself and take no notice of what other people say about you.”

“Work is much more fun than fun.”

“Wouldn't it be dreadful to live in a country where they didn't have tea?”

“You'll never decide what you want until you've decided who you are.”

“Your motivation is your pay packet on Friday. Now get on with it.”

“It's a sad reflection on society how many people are shocked by honesty... and how few by dishonesty.”

“It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”

“Time is the reef upon which all our mystic ships are wrecked.”

“Success is far more perilous than failure, isn’t it? You’ve got to be doubly strong and watchful and wary.”

“Couldn't you see that all my flippancy was only a mask, hiding my real emotions – crushing them down desperately!”

“People have died from hiccups, you know.”

“You kissed me because you were awfully nice and I was awfully nice and we both liked kissing very much. It was inevitable.”

“I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives.”

“It's a pity you didn't have a little more brandy. It might have made you more agreeable!”

“Strange how potent cheap music is.”

“There isn't a particle of you that I don't know, remember, and want.”