“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

“And the air was full of Thoughts and Things to Say. But at times like these, only the Small Things are ever said. Big Things lurk unsaid inside.”

Arundhati Roy book The God of Small Things

“Occasionally we all do wrong things from right motives. Only time can prove us right or wrong. The past is the past. Nothing can change it now, and who is to say that it was all wrong, anyway?”

Mary Balogh (1944) Welsh-Canadian novelist

“Gossip is the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves practically nothing unsaid.”

Walter Winchell (1897–1972) American gossip journalist

“I like to be the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing in the right place. Being the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing in the right place is worth it because something interesting always happens.”

Andy Warhol (1928–1987) American artist

“I suppose that's one of the ironies of life doing the wrong thing at the right moment.”

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) British comic actor and filmmaker

“The other possibility was that there was no right thing to say, that the choice wasn't between right and wrong but between wrong, more wrong, and as wrong as you can get.”

Richard Russo Empire Falls

“Character does count. For too long we have gotten by in a society that says the only thing right is to get by and the only thing wrong is to get caught. Character is doing what's right when nobody is looking…”

J. C. Watts (1957) American politician

“Right time, right place, right people equals success.
Wrong time, wrong place, wrong people equals most of the real human history.”

Idries Shah book Reflections

“If the request is wrong, God says, "No." If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow." If you are wrong, God says, "Grow." But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!"”

Bill Hybels (1951) American writer