“Anyone who hates children and dogs can't be all bad.”

— W.C. Fields

Although very commonly attributed to Fields, this is derived from a statement that was actually first said about him by Leo Rosten during a "roast" at the Masquer's Club in Hollywood in 1939, as Rosten explains in his book, The Power of Positive Nonsense (1977) "The only thing I can say about W. C. Fields ... is this: Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad."
Misattributed
Variant: Anyone who hates babies and dogs can't be all bad.

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W.C. Fields 47

actor 1880–1946

Related quotes

“Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad.”

Leo Rosten (1908–1997) American writer

Although a very common misconception is to attribute the final part of this quote to W.C. Fields himself, it was actually first said about him by Rosten during a "roast" of Fields at the Masquer's Club in Hollywood in 1939, as Rosten explains in his book, The Power of Positive Nonsense (1977).
Context: The only thing I can say about W. C. Fields … is this: Any man who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad.

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“Dog hates mouse and worships "cat", mouse despises "cat" and hates dog, "cat" hates no one and loves mouse.”

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Context: A humbly poetic, gently clownlike, supremely innocent, and illimitably affectionate creature (slightly resembling a child's drawing of a cat, but gifted with the secret grace and obvious clumsiness of a penguin on terra firma) who is never so happy as when egoist-mouse, thwarting altruist-dog, hits her in the head with a brick. Dog hates mouse and worships "cat", mouse despises "cat" and hates dog, "cat" hates no one and loves mouse.

“Dogs are great. Bad dogs, if you can really call them that, are perhaps the greatest of them all.”

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“You cannot "love" a dog out of her bad behavior, just as you can't "love" a criminal into stopping his crimes.”

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2010s