Quotessence
Home / Authors / George Mikes
George Mikes

George Mikes Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllFunnyHumorousHumorEnglandIfsPeopleAustraliaIsraelBritishCountryStatesStillsAmericaContinentsLanguageJapanTwoUnitedWorldAustralian

Famous George Mikes Quotes

“Japan suffered terribly from the atomic bomb but never adopted a pose of moral superiority, implying: 'We would never have done it!' The Japanese know perfectly well they would have used it had they had it. They accept the idea that war is war; they give no quarter and accept none. Total war, they recognize, knows no Queensberry Rules. If you develop a devastating new weapon during a total war, you use it; you do not put it into the War Museum.”

IfsKnowsGivingWellsIdeasWarDoneUseFunnyUsedAcceptingMoralWeaponsBombsJapanMuseumsQuartersSuperiorityAdoptedTotal WarAtomic BombImplyingMoral Superiority
Book:The land of the rising yen: Japan
Create image

“Television is of great educational value. It teaches you while still young how to (a) kill, (b) rob, (c) embezzle, (d) shoot, (e) poison, and, generally speaking, (f) how to grow up into a Wild West outlaw or gangster by the time you leave school.”

StillsSchoolFunnyYoungValuesGrowsTeachGrowing UpTelevisionWestEducationalPoisonGangstersOutlawGreat EducationalWild West
Book:How to be a Brit: The Classic Bestselling Guide
Create image

“What beefsteak is to Argentina, flamenco to Spain, cool reserve and self-control in all situations to an Englishman, what vodka is to a Russian and beer to a Bavarian, what money is to a Swiss, that is outdoor-life to an Australian. It is a noble mania, better than vodka, better than cool reserve, better than money.”

SelfHumorFunnySituationNobleBeerAustraliaSelf ControlReservesSpainAustralianEnglishmenArgentinaSwissVodkaManiaFlamencoOutdoor Life
Author:George Mikes
Create image

“They (Americans) have their national game, baseball - which is cricket played with a strong American accent - and they have a national language, entirely their own, unlike any other language spoken on the earth.”

EarthFunnyAmericaGamesLanguageStrongHumorousBaseballAccentsCricketNational Language
Book:How to scrape skies: the United States explored, rediscovered and explained
Create image

“It is great fun dying in the United States of America. It is great fun first of all for the undertakers who make a wonderful living out of it but also for the deceased who suddenly becomes the centre of attention and fuss.”

FirstsStatesFunnyAmericaFunUnitedAttentionUnited StatesWonderfulDyingHumorousUnited States Of AmericaCentreDeceasedUndertakerCentre Of Attention
Book:How to scrape skies: the United States explored, rediscovered and explained
Create image

“The poor Americans are so busy defending the rights of Hindus in Pakistan, Moslems in India, Jews in Palestine, Koreans in Japan, Italians in Yugoslavia and Hungarians in Czechoslovakia that they simply cannot give a thought to Negroes in the United States.”

GivingStatesFunnyAmericaPoorUnitedUnited StatesRightsHumorousIndiaBusyJewJapanPakistanPalestineKoreanYugoslaviaHungariansCzechoslovakia
Book:How to scrape skies: the United States explored, rediscovered and explained
Create image

“The British are proud of their ability to create a muddle and then muddle through all difficulties. I must shake the British pride: muddle is not an exclusively British institution. Read descriptions, for instance, of the over-organized, wonderfully systematic and "thorough" German war machine during the last war.”

WarHumorFunnyLastsAbilityPrideProudHumorousMachinesDifficultyInstitutionsBritishInstanceGermanyOrganizedShakesDescriptionSystematicThoroughMuddle
Author:George Mikes
Create image

“A great deal of the pupils time was spent going through, once again, the History of the Communist (Bolshevik) Party of the Soviet Union. He had learnt it at elementary school; at secondary school; at his sports club; at the Komsomol; at the university; at a folk dancing course; at the chess-club.”

SchoolFunnyCoursesSportsDealsPartyHumorousDancingUnionsUniversityFolksClubsChessRussiaCommunistSovietSoviet UnionPupilsElementary SchoolBolsheviksSecondary School
Author:George Mikes
Create image