“Philadelphia is the most pecksniffian of American cities, and thus probably leads the world.”
H.L. Mencken book The American Language
The American Language (1919)
Travels in Philadelphia (1920)
“Philadelphia is the most pecksniffian of American cities, and thus probably leads the world.”
H.L. Mencken book The American Language
The American Language (1919)
“To say it is a dog's breakfast is an insult to the pet food industry.”
Rhodri Morgan (1939–2017) British politician
James Landale, "Collected sayings of Morgan the mouth'", The Times, November 10, 1998, p. 8.
Comment on architectural plans for the National Assembly for Wales building.
Ilana Mercer South African writer
“Is Anarcho-Capitalism Compatible with Natural Justice?” http://www.unz.com/article/is-anarcho-capitalism-compatible-with-natural-justice/ Unz Review, April 3, 2015. <br class="br">2010s, 2015
Adam Smith (1723–1790) Scottish moral philosopher and political economist
Source: (1776), Book I, Chapter VIII, p. 91 (Oatmeal in England makes for great horses, in Scotland Great Men).
“The world wants oatmeal. It is not my job to give the world oatmeal.”
Caitlín R. Kiernan (1964) writer
(23 June 2003)
Unfit for Mass Consumption (blog entries), 2003
Context: The world wants oatmeal. It is not my job to give the world oatmeal. It is my job not to be a hack. It is my job to try to make the world chew, lest its lazy jaw muscles atrophy and its collective mandible withers and all its teeth fall out. It is my job, as a writer, to give the world toffee and peanut brittle and tough steak and celery. I write peanut butter sandwiches, not oatmeal. And every time some dolt whines, "I'm confused" or "I don't understand" or "This doesn't make any sense," I should smile and know that I'm doing my job. Not because it is my job to be opaque, but because it is not my job to be transparent.
“We need a constitutional amendment to make the federal government obey the Constitution.”
James Bovard (1956) American journalist
From The Bush Betrayal (Palgrave, 2004) http://www.jimbovard.com/Epigram%20page%20Bush%20Betrayal.htm
Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman
1860s, Should the Negro Enlist in the Union Army? (1863)
Nicolas Cage (1964) American actor
"Interview: Nicolas Cage digs deep about ‘Pig,’ his favorite and most underrated of his own movies, and the role he’d love to play" in Awards Watch https://awardswatch.com/interview-nicolas-cage-digs-deep-about-pig-his-favorite-and-most-underrated-of-his-own-movies-and-the-role-hed-love-to-play/ (14 January 2022)
W. Cleon Skousen (1913–2006) ex FBI agent, conservative United States author and faith-based political theorist
The 5,000 Year Leap (1981)
“We cultivate literature on a little oatmeal.”
Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English writer and clergyman
Vol. I, ch. 2, p. 60.
Motto proposed by Smith for the Edinburgh Review.
Lady Holland's Memoir (1855)