Quotes about answer
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“I don't know. I imagine good teaching as a circle of earnest people sitting down to ask each other meaningful questions. I don't see it as a handing down of answers…”

Alice Walker (1944) American author and activist

People, Imagination, Question

“I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question.”

Yogi Berra (1925–2015) American baseball player, manager, coach

Question

“If it's us", she whispered, "how come you get to decide?"

When he didn't answer - couldn't answer - she turned and stared out the front window. As it turned out, they were still in the parking lot.

They hadn't gotten anywhere at all.”

Jodi Picoult book The Tenth Circle

Source: The Tenth Circle

“You kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire. He had wondered once why love was always phrased in terms of burning. The conflagration in his own veins, now, gave the answer.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Princess

Source: Clockwork Princess

Love

“It's not enough to believe! Don't you see that, you stupid girl? You could spend your whole life hoping and believing! If a love affair is one-sided, then it's only ever a question, never an answer. You can't live your life waiting for an answer.”

Sophie Kinsella book Twenties Girl

Source: Twenties Girl

Love, Life, Stupidity, Hope

“If you don't ask, the answer is always no.”

Nora Roberts (1950) American romance writer

“So what’d you do to the lesser?” a male voice said.
“I lit his cigarette with a sawed-off,” another one answered. “He didn’t come down for breakfast, you feel me?”

Jessica Bird book Dark Lover

Source: Dark Lover

Feeling

“There’s no use saying anything in the schoolyard because there’s always someone with an answer and there’s nothing you can do but punch them in the nose and if you were to punch everyone who has an answer you’d be punching morning noon and night.”

Frank McCourt book Angela's Ashes

Source: Angela's Ashes (1996)

Night

“The trick to surviving an interrogation is patience. Don’t offer up anything. Don’t explain. Answer the question and only the question that is asked so you don’t accidentally put your head in a noose.”

Laurie Halse Anderson (1961) American children's writer

Source: The Impossible Knife of Memory

Question, Patience

“People ask, How did you get in there? What they really want to know is if they are likely to end up in there as well. I can't answer the real question. All I can tell them is, It's easy. Most people pass over incrementally, making a series of perforations in the membrane between here and there until an opening exists. And who can resist an opening?”

Susanna Kaysen book Girl, Interrupted

Source: Girl, Interrupted (1994)

People, Question

“Are you learning me by heart, little Sara?" he said, stroking her hair.
"No," she answered. "I know you by heart. You are inside my heart.”

Frances Hodgson Burnett A Little Princess

Source: A Little Princess

Learning, Heart

“Arguments cannot be answered by personal abuse; there is no logic in slander, and falsehood, in the long run, defeats itself.”

Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer

Source: Some Mistakes of Moses

Personality

“Faith in faith' he answered himself. 'It isn't necessary to have something to believe in. It's only necessary to believe that somewhere there's something worthy of belief.”

Alfred Bester book The Stars My Destination

Source: The Stars My Destination

Faith

“God himself does not give answers. He gives himself.”

Frederick Buechner (1926) Poet, novelist, short story writer, theologian

Telling the Truth (1977)
Source: Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale

God

“If what you're asking is how I debated whether or not to love her the answer is I didn't. Not at all. It just happened. I didn't ever question it; by the time I realized what was happening, it was already done.”

Sarah Dessen book This Lullaby

Source: This Lullaby

Love, Question, Time

“If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.”

Quentin Tarantino (1963) American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor

Source: Pulp Fiction: A Quentin Tarantino Screenplay

Question

“To whom could I put this question (with any hope of an answer)? Does being able to live without someone you loved mean you loved her less than you thought…?”

Roland Barthes (1915–1980) French philosopher, critic and literary theorist

Love, Hope, Question

“Bear in mind, children, that they listen to you because you are kids—not because you are right. That's how our Father listens to us … We never understand what we're praying, and God, in His mercy, does not answer our prayers according to our understanding, but according to His wisdom.”

Rich Mullins (1955–1997) American christian musician

Lufkin, Texas http://www.kidbrothers.net/words/concert-transcripts/lufkin-texas-jul1997-full.html (July 19, 1997) <br class="br">In Concert

Wisdom, God, Children, Understanding

“Well, let me leave it at this: if God does exist, He would have a great deal be sad about. And if He doesn’t exist, then that too would make Him quite sad, I imagine. So to answer your question, God must be sad.”

Jonathan Safran Foer book Everything Is Illuminated

Source: Everything Is Illuminated

God, Sadness, Imagination, Question

“True wisdom gives the only possible answer at any given moment, and that night, going back to bed was the only possible answer.”

Elizabeth Gilbert book Eat, Pray, Love

Source: Eat, Pray, Love

Wisdom, Night

“He had that hungry mind, constantly turning things over, looking not for answers but for understanding.”

E. Lockhart book We Were Liars

Source: We Were Liars

Understanding

“Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve.”

Roger Lewin (1944) American writer

Children, Problem, For Parents

“If you eliminate all possible explanations, then the impossible is the answer.”

Jessica Bird book Lover Unbound

Source: Lover Unbound

“What term do you employ when you speak of your progenitor?"
I answered with the term I'd always wanted to employ.
"Sonovabitch."
"To his face?" she asked.
"I never see his face."
"He wears a mask?"
"In a way, yes. Of stone. Of absolute stone.”

Erich Segal book Love Story

Source: Love Story

Way

“But when the other end of the line picked up, it was his voicemail that answered, not the man himself. "I know how devastated you must be to miss me," his cheery voice said, "but leave a message, and I'll try to ease your agony as soon as possible.”

Richelle Mead Blood Promise

Source: Blood Promise

“we make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers”

Carl Sagan book Cosmos

Source: Cosmos

World, Courage, Question

“In our creation, God asked a question and in our truly living; God answers the question.”

Thomas Merton (1915–1968) Priest and author

Source: New Seeds of Contemplation

God, Question

“I love you so much that nothing can matter to me - not even you… Only my love- not your answer. Not even your indifference”

Ayn Rand book The Fountainhead

Source: The Fountainhead

Love, Indifference

“He will not succeed in this," Taran said. "Somehow, we must find a way to escape. We dare not lose hope."
"I agree absolutely," Fflewddur answered. "Your general idea is excellent; it's only the details that are lacking…”

Lloyd Alexander book The Black Cauldron

Source: The Chronicles of Prydain (1964–1968), Book V : The High King (1968), Chapter 20
Source: The Black Cauldron
Context: Orgoch gave a most ungentle snort. Orddu, meanwhile, had unfolded a length of brightly woven tapestry and held it out to Taran.
“We came to bring you this, my duckling,” she said. “Take it and pay no heed to Orgoch’s grumbling. She’ll have to swallow her disappointment—for lack of anything better.”
“I have seen this on your loom,” Taran said, more than a little distrustful. “Why do you offer it to me? I do not ask for it, nor can I pay for it.”
“It is yours by right, my robin,” answered Orddu. “It does come from our loom, if you insist on strictest detail, but it was really you who wove it.”
Puzzled, Taran looked more closely at the fabric and saw it crowded with images of men and women, of warriors and battles, of birds and animals. “These,” he murmured in wonder, “these are of my own life.”
“Of course,” Orddu replied. “The pattern is of your choosing and always was.”
“My choosing?” Taran questioned. “Not yours? Yet I believed...” He stopped and raised his eyes to Orddu. “Yes,” he said slowly, “once I did believe the world went at your bidding. I see now it is not so. The strands of life are not woven by three hags or even by three beautiful damsels. The pattern indeed was mine. But here,” he added, frowning as he scanned the final portion of the fabric where the weaving broke off and the threads fell unraveled, “here it is unfinished.”
“Naturally,” said Orddu. “You must still choose the pattern, and so must each of you poor, perplexed fledglings, as long as thread remains to be woven.”

Hope, Way, Idea

“What about you three, where are you going?"
Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make it any less terrifying or blood-chilling when the words were said.
"We're going after the Kalkara.”

John Flanagan (1873–1938) Irish-American hammer thrower

Source: The Ruins of Gorlan

“Sometimes the best answers to prayer are the ones God doesn't answer.”

Robin Jones Gunn (1955) American writer

Source: Surprise Endings

God

“Ancient Egyptians believed that upon death they would be asked two questions and their answers would determine whether they could continue their journey in the afterlife. The first question was, 'Did you bring joy?' The second was, 'Did you find joy?”

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer

Death, Question, Joy

“What’s your favorite place to visit?” He absently answered, “Wherever you are.”
“Bowen, five things about you can’t all be about me.”
But you’re the only good thing that I’ve got.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night

“I asked myself childish questions and proceeded to answer them.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Question

“If you don't have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain't getting them.”

Christopher McDougall (1962) American journalist and writer

Source: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Problem

“Florentina Ariza had kept his answer ready for fifty-three years, seven months and eleven days and nights. 'Forever,' he said.”

Gabriel García Márquez book Love in the Time of Cholera

Source: Love in the Time of Cholera

Night

“Sir,"she said,"you are no gentleman!"

An apt observation,"he answered airily."And, you, Miss, are no lady.”

Margaret Mitchell book Vom Winde verweht (1937 German edition)

Source: Gone with the Wind

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”

Nancy Willard (1936–2017) American writer

Question

“The truth is that the universe has been answering you all of your life, but you cannot receive the answers unless you are awake.”

Rhonda Byrne book The Secret

Source: The Secret

Life, Truth, Universe

“If you don't ask the right question, every answer seems wrong”

Ani DiFranco (1970) musician and activist

Question

“I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can't answer your question”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

Question, Thinking

“Surely only boring people went in for conversations consisting of questions and answers. The art of true conversation consisted in the play of minds.”

Ved Mehta (1934) Indian writer

Source: All for Love

People, Art, Question

“…'Goose girl, may I kiss you?' She answered by… kissing him first.”

Shannon Hale The Goose Girl

Source: The Goose Girl

Girl, Kiss

“There's no point in asking why, even though everybody will. I know why. The harder question is "why not?" I can't believe she ran out of answers before I did.”

Laurie Halse Anderson Wintergirls

Source: Wintergirls

Question

“I decided not to answer on the grounds that I might piss someone off.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book The Laughing Corpse

Source: The Laughing Corpse

“There was a certain history to this. While heavily pregnant with Amelia, she had asked him if she was radiant or if she just looked like a waddling duck. He told her she’d looked like a radiant duck. This had not been the correct answer.”

Julia Quinn (1970) American novelist

Source: The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After

History

“Why can't reason give greater answers? Why can we throw a question further than we can pull in an answer? Why such a vast net if there's so little fish to catch?”

Yann Martel book Life of Pi

Source: Life of Pi

Question, Fish

“The only interesting answers are those which destroy the questions.”

Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist

Question

“We need to be together."
"Why?" I asked softly. The word was carried away on the wind, but he heard.
"Because I want you."
I gave him a sad smile, wondering if we'd meet again in the land of the dead. "Wrong answer," I told him.
I let go”

Richelle Mead Blood Promise

Source: Blood Promise

Sadness, Smile, Dead

“Is he… is Dimitri a Strigoi?"
Mason hesitated only a moment, like he was afraid to answer me, and then—he nodded.
My heart shattered. My world shattered.”

Richelle Mead Shadow Kiss

Source: Shadow Kiss

World, Heart

“What has three heads, six arms, and half a brain?" Three asked. One and Two answered in unison. "Nate Sutter.”

Brandon Mull The Candy Shop War

Source: The Candy Shop War

“Anyone who thinks one book has all the answers hasn't read enough books.”

Brian K. Vaughan (1976) American screenwriter, comic book creator

Variant: ... anyone who thinks one book has all the answers hasn't read enough books.
Source: Saga, Vol. 6

Books, Thinking, Reading

“Play is the answer to how anything new comes about.”

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) Swiss psychologist, biologist, logician, philosopher & academic

“What does he say?' he asked.
'He’s very sad,’ Úrsula answered, ‘because he thinks that you’re going to die.'
'Tell him,' the colonel said, smiling, 'that a person doesn’t die when he should but when he can.”

Gabriel García Márquez book One Hundred Years of Solitude

Source: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Sadness, Smile, Thinking, Personality

“Can you take human form in daylight? (Talon)
Obviously so. Ever tried to answer a phone without opposable thumbs? (Vane)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon Night Embrace

Source: Night Embrace

“That's not a real answer.'
Says who?'
Says me. I mean real fear, like of failure, of death, of regret. Like that. Something that keeps you awake nights, questioning your very existence.'
Clowns.”

Sarah Dessen book The Truth About Forever

Source: The Truth About Forever

Death, Fear, Failure, Question

“If nothing is random, and everything is predetermined, how can there be free will? The answer to that is simple. Nothing is predetermined; it is determined, or was determined, or will be determined.”

Mark Helprin book Winter's Tale

Source: Winter's Tale

“The surest way to keep a secret is to make someone think they already know the answer.”

Frank Herbert book Heretics of Dune

Source: Heretics of Dune

Secret, Way, Thinking

“Do you always ask me the same questions you ask him?"

"It depends on whether or not I get an answer.”

Anne Bishop (1955) American fiction writer

Source: Daughter of the Blood

Question, Dependency

“If you're a writer, the answer to everything is yes.”

Nikki Giovanni (1943) American writer and academic

“He almosted smiled. "There you go again. Why? Why do yo keep helping me?"
There were a million answers on my lips, everything from It's the right thing to do to I don't know. Instead, I said, "Because I want to.”

Richelle Mead book The Golden Lily

Source: The Golden Lily

Smile, Help

“So what’s your favorite Synism? (Kiara)
Duwad. (Nykyrian)
Which means? (Kiara)
You’re not old enough for me to answer that. Hell, I’m not even old enough to say it. (Nykyrian)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Born of the Night

Hell

“It just makes me wonder what subject you blame for talking to me every night.'
I'm still settling on an answer for that one. Probably Chemistry.
Jesus Christ. I can't believe I just wrote that.”

Megan McCafferty (1973) American novelist

Source: Sloppy Firsts

Christ, Night

“Hi there," squeaked a precocious little voice, "you are speaking to Chloe Fusakawa, and I have just learned how to answer the phone.”

Gabrielle Zevin book Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Source: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Learning

“Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?”

James Thurber (1894–1961) American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright

Cartoon caption, The New Yorker (5 June 1937); "Word Dance--Part One", A Thurber Carnival (1960)
Cartoon captions
Source: Collecting Himself: James Thurber On Writing And Writers, Humor And Himself

“There was no short answer to this; like so much else, it was a long story. But what really makes any story real is knowing someone will hear it. And understand.”

Sarah Dessen book Just Listen

Source: Just Listen

Understanding