“That's a bit like asking a man crawling across the Sahara whether he would prefer Perrier or Malvern water.”

— Alan Bennett

Quoted in the Daily Telegraph, October 30, 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/10/30/dl3003.xml <br class="br">When asked by Sir Ian McKellen, in 1997, whether he was heterosexual or homosexual.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "That's a bit like asking a man crawling across the Sahara whether he would prefer Perrier or Malvern water." by Alan Bennett?

Alan Bennett56

English actor, author 1934

Related quotes

“Charlie asks her for a Perrier with lime. She says that San Pellegrino is what they have. He says it's all the same to him. Fancy water is fancy water.”

John Updike book Rabbit at Rest

Rabbit at Rest (1990)

“They flew like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water.”

Kenneth Arnold (1915–1984) American aviator and businessman

To East Oregonian reporter Bill Bequette at the airport at Pendleton on June 25, 1947, where Arnold was refueling his private plane. Bill Bequette and editor Nolan Skiff's front page story in the evening paper of the same day, titled Impossible! Maybe, But Seein’ Is Believin’, Says Flyer, started the modern UFO era. The EO ran front page follow-ups on June 27, 28 and 30. https://www.eastoregonian.com/news/local/the-sighting/article_1dc33f61-868d-5c36-b159-87c8465fb662.html

“Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth,
our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man.”

Homér Iliad

XVIII. 130–131 (tr. Robert Fagles). Cf. Iliad, XVII. 446–447.
Samuel Butler's translation:
: Man is the vainest of all creatures that have their being upon earth.
Robert Fitzgerald's translation:
: Of mortal creatures, all that breathe and move,
earth bears none frailer than mankind.
Odyssey (c. 725 BC)
Variant: Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.
Source: The Iliad

“I like a bit of a mongrel myself, whether it's a man or a dog; they're the best for every day.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

Episode I
1910s, Misalliance (1910)

“Isn’t it enough to make a man sour on his country when he wants to serve it and won’t be allowed unless he answers a lot of fool questions about the number of cubic inches of water in the Atlantic and the quality of sand in the Sahara desert? p. 11”

George Washington Plunkitt (1842–1924) New York State Senator

Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, Chapter 3, The Curse of Civil Service Reform

“terror finally becomes almost
bearable
but never quite

terror creeps like a cat
crawls like a cat
across my mind”

Charles Bukowski book Love Is a Dog from Hell

Source: Love Is a Dog from Hell

“When the man was disgraced and told to go away, he was allowed to ask all the animals whether any of them would come with him and share his fortunes and his life. There were only two who agreed to come entirely of their own accord, and they were the dog and the cat. And ever since then, those two have been jealous of each other, and each is for ever trying to make man choose which one he likes best. Every man prefers one or the other.”

Richard Adams book The Plague Dogs

The Plague Dogs (1977)

“M. Perrier found that their exposure to the dry air of a room for only a single night was fatal to them. On the other hand he kept several large worms alive for nearly four months, completely submerged in water.”

Charles Darwin book The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

Source: The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms (1881), Chapter 1: Habits of Worms, pp. 12-13 http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=27&itemID=F1357&viewtype=image.

“You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?”

Rumi (1207–1273) Iranian poet

As quoted in Wisdom for the Soul : Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing (2006) by Larry Chang, p. 26

“The universe does not care whether man unlocks its secrets or leaves them closed. Water does not care whether man bathes in it or drowns in it; whether it waters his fields or washes them away. If man masters its laws and utilizes his knowledge, water becomes a force in his favor. But enemy or servant, water does not care.”

Mark Clifton book They'd Rather Be Right

Source: They'd Rather Be Right (1954), p. 48.

“That's a bit like asking a man crawling across the Sahara whether he would prefer Perrier or Malvern water.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Alan Bennett56

Related quotes

Related topics