“I'm a cynical idealist.”

“Scratch any cynic and you will find a disappointed idealist.”

“It had been his experience that the worst cynics all started out as idealists.”

“War is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics and of troops by politicians.”

“It's easy to be a naive idealist. It's easy to be a cynical realist. It's quite another thing to have no illusions and still hold the inner flame.”

“Scratch the surface of most cynics and you find a frustrated idealist — someone who made the mistake of converting his ideals into expectations.”

“An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.”

“I'm backing David Cameron's campaign out of pure, cynical self-interest.”

“You're a cynic," Urgit accused.
Silk shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. I'm a realist.”

“Born in a generation that thinks cynical and disenchanted is cool,
sometimes I'm a little off the beaten track.”