“His upper half was hidden from me, I knew best his legs.”

—  John Updike , book The Centaur

The Centaur (1963)
Context: I miss only, and then only a little, in the late afternoon, the sudden white laughter that like heat lightning bursts in an atmosphere where souls are trying to serve the impossible. My father for all his mourning moved in the atmosphere of such laughter. He would have puzzled you. He puzzled me. His upper half was hidden from me, I knew best his legs.

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 "His upper half was hidden from me, I knew best his legs." by John Updike?
John Updike photo
John Updike 240
American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, an… 1932–2009

Related quotes

Izaak Walton photo
Philip José Farmer photo

“Know a man’s faith, and you knew at least half the man. Know his wife, and you knew the other half.”

Philip José Farmer (1918–2009) American science fiction writer

Source: The Riverworld series, To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971), Chapter 23 (p. 176)
Context: Burton, though an infidel, made it his business to investigate thoroughly every religion. Know a man’s faith, and you knew at least half the man. Know his wife, and you knew the other half.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi photo

“He [the King of Morocco] spends half his time asleep and the rest of it buried between the legs of the fairer sex.”

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) Shah of Iran

As quoted in Asadollah Alam (1991), The Shah and I: The Confidential Diary of Iran's Royal Court, 1968-77, page 237
Attributed

James Russell Lowell photo
Rick Riordan photo
Roberto Clemente photo

“First base is not for me. I think a man shortens his career there instead of prolonging it. I keep my legs in good shape by running back and forth from the outfield to the dugout.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted in "Sidelight on Sports: Conversation Pieces" by Al Abrams, in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Friday, September 29, 1972), p. 18
Baseball-related, <big><big>1970s</big></big>, <big>1972</big>

Thomas Middleton photo

“On his last legs.”

Thomas Middleton (1580–1627) English playwright and poet

The Old Law (1618-19), Act v. Sc. 1.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips photo
Benjamin Franklin photo

“A plowman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees. ”

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, …

Related topics