Winston Churchill Quotes

“A baboon in a forest is a matter of legitimate speculation; a baboon in a zoo is an object of public curiosity; but a baboon in your wife’s bed is a cause of the gravest concern.”

“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.”

“A good speech should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

“A lady came up to me one day and said 'Sir! You are drunk', to which I replied 'I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober but you will still be ugly.”

“A man does what he must in spite of personal consequences in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures and that is the basis of all human morality.”

“A man is about as big as the things that make him angry.”

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

“A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.”

“A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.”

“A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.”

“A small lie needs a bodyguard of bigger lies to protect it.”

“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”

“An old battle-axe of a woman said to Winston Churchill, "If you were my husband I would put poison in your tea." Churchill's response, "Ma'am if you were my wife I would drink it.”

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

“Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself, believe.”

“By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.”

“Churchill: "Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?" Socialite: "My goodness, Mr. Churchill... Well, I suppose... we would have to discuss terms, of course... "
Churchill: "Would you sleep with me for five pounds?"
Socialite: "Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!" Churchill: "Madam, we've already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.”

“Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.”

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.”

“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”

“Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”

“Dinner would have been splendid... if the wine had been as cold as the soup, the beef as rare as the service, the brandy as old as the fish, and the maid as willing as the Duchess.”

“Do not let spacious plans for a new world divert your energies from saving what is left of the old.”

“Don't interrupt me while I'm interrupting.”

“Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.”

“Doubts can be swept away only by deeds.”

“Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.”

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”

“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.”