WIST Quotations

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 14, Lords and Ladies (1992)

Dave — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:23:48 +0000

The shortest unit of time in the multiverse is the New York Second, defined as the period of time between the traffic lights turning green and the cab behind you honking.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 14, Lords and Ladies (1992)
(Source)

Lynd, Robert Wilson -- Searchlights and Nightingales (1939)

Dave — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:00:50 +0000

The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.

Robert Wilson Lynd (1879–1949) Irish writer, literary essayist, journalist, nationalist (Robiard Ó Flionn; pseud. "Y. Y.")
Searchlights and Nightingales (1939)
(Source)

Ward, Artemus -- Shakespeare Up-to-Date

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

“Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just” —
And four times he who gets his fist in fust.

Artemus Ward (1834-1867) American humorist, editor, lecturer [pseud. of Charles Farrar Browne]
Shakespeare Up-to-Date

See Shakespeare. Also attributed to Josh Billings in Josh Billings: His Sayings (1865), and sometimes oddly credited to Romans 13:7.