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Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett Quotes

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Famous Terry Pratchett Quotes

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror. The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning. No one ever said elves are nice. Elves are bad.”

IfsWantLooksSaidCausesBehindsWonderFantasyNiceWonderfulChangedProjectsTerrorFantasticProvokingSnakesTwistsTerrificGlamourGlamorousBegetsEnchantmentMarvellousEnchantingLords And Ladies
Author:Terry Pratchett
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“You did what you were told or you didn't get paid, and if things went wrong it wasn't your problem. It was the fault of whatever idiot has accepted this message for sending in the first place. No one cared about you, and everyone at headquarters was an idiot. It wasn't your fault, no one listened to you. Headquarters had even started an Employee of the Month scheme to show how much they cared. That was how much they didn't care.”

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“The stories never said why she was wicked. It was enough to be an old woman, enough to be all alone, enough to look strange because you have no teeth. It was enough to be called a witch. If it came to that, the book never gave you the evidence of anything. It talked about "a handsome prince"... was he really, or was it just because he was a prince that people called handsome? As for "a girl who was as beautiful as the day was long"... well, which day? In midwinter it hardly ever got light! The stories don't want you to think, they just wanted you to believe what you were told.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWantBelieveWellsLooksLongSaidBookEnoughStoriesLightWantedBeautifulGirlStrangeEvidenceTeethWickedWitchHandsomeOld WomanAll AloneMidwinter
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“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

PeopleIfsBelieveStillsHardDreamMotivationalFunnyStarsWorkFantasyLearningTrustHard WorkFollowingIronyAccomplishmentYour DreamsLazyLazinessBeatenTrust YourselfDiscworldInsufficientDon't Waste Your TimeBelieve In Your DreamsSmall GodsGood OmensInsufficiency
Author:Terry Pratchett
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“It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.”

IfsThinkingSelfEasierGoodnessBlameFaultsBad ThingsDepressingDiscworldBadnessBlaming OthersSam Vimes
Author:Terry Pratchett
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“Aziraphale collected books. If he were totally honest with himself he would have to have admitted that his bookshop was simply somewhere to store them. He was not unusual in this. In order to maintain his cover as a typical second-hand book seller, he used every means short of actual physical violence to prevent customers from making a purchase. Unpleasant damp smells, glowering looks, erratic opening hours - he was incredibly good at it.”

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“We're dealing here," said Vimes, "With a twisted mind." "Oh, no! You think so?" "Yes." "But... no... you can't be right. Because Nobby was with us all the time." "Not Nobby," said Vimes testily. "Whatever he might do to a dragon, I doubt if he'd make it explode. There's stranger people in this world than Corporal Nobbs, my lad." Carrot's expression slid into a rictus of intrigued horror. "Gosh," he said.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWorldMindSaidMightDoubtThis WorldExpressionHorrorStrangerDragonsTwistedIntriguedLadCarrotsTwisted Minds
Author:Terry Pratchett
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