Ogden Nash: Quotes about people

Ogden Nash was American poet. Explore interesting quotes on people.

Ogden Nash: 250 quotes17 likes

“People watch with unshocked eyes;
But the old men know when an old man dies.”

"Old Men"
Many Long Years Ago (1945)
Context: People expect old men to die,
They do not really mourn old men.
Old men are different. People look
At them with eyes that wonder when...
People watch with unshocked eyes;
But the old men know when an old man dies.

“People expect old men to die,
They do not really mourn old men.”

Ogden Nash

“There are two kinds of people who blow through life like a breeze,
And one kind is gossipers, and the other kind is gossipees,
And they certainly annoy each other,
But they certainly enjoy each other”

Ogden Nash

I'm a Stranger Here Myself (1938), I Have It On Good Authority
Context: There are two kinds of people who blow through life like a breeze,
And one kind is gossipers, and the other kind is gossipees,
And they certainly annoy each other,
But they certainly enjoy each other,
Yes, they pretend to flout each other,
But they couldn't do without each other...

“Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else…”

Ogden Nash

"Let's Not Climb the Washington Monument Tonight"
Versus (1949)

“People who have what they want are fond of telling people who haven’t what they want that they really don’t want it.”

Ogden Nash

“Other people, and it doesn't matter if they are Scandinavians or Celts,
Think that anything is better than theirs just because it belongs to somebody else.”

Ogden Nash

Versus (1949), Possessions are Nine Points of Conversation
Variant: Some people, and it doesn't matter whether they are paupers or millionaires,
Think that anything they have is the best in the world just because it is theirs.

“O all ye exorcizers come and exorcize now, and ye clergymen draw nigh and clerge,
For I wish to be purged of an urge.
It is an irksome urge, compounded of nettles and glue,
And it is turning all my friends back into acquaintances, and all my acquaintances into people who look the other way when I heave into view.”

Ogden Nash

Good Intentions (1942), So Does Everybody Else, Only Not So Much

“There is one thing that ought to be taught in all the colleges,
Which is that people ought to be taught not to go around always making apologies.”

Ogden Nash

"Just Keep Quiet and Nobody Will Notice"
I'm a Stranger Here Myself (1938)

“Good wine needs no bush,
And perhaps products that people really want need no
hard-sell or soft-sell TV push.
Why not?
Look at pot.”

Ogden Nash

"Most Doctors Recommend or Yours For Fast Fast Fast Relief" in The Old Dog Barks Backwards (1972)

“When people reject a truth or an untruth it is not because it is a truth or an untruth that they reject it.
No, if it isn't in accord with their beliefs in the first place they simply say, "Nothing doing," and refuse to inspect it.”

Ogden Nash

Good Intentions (1942), Seeing Eye to Eye is Believing