Quotes about beating
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“Punch any of mine, and I’ll break your arm off and beat you to death with it.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Breaks

Death

“Beauty and ingenuity beat perfection hands down, every time.”

Nalo Hopkinson (1960) Jamaican Canadian writer

Source: Sister Mine

Beauty, Beauty, Time, Perfection

“no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And then one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

Variant: It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And then one fine morning—
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
Source: The Great Gatsby

Past

“I'd call him a sadistic, hippophilic necrophile, but that would be beating a dead horse.”

Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician

Horse, Dead

“And yet I cannot continue in this condition! I have to remind myself to breathe — almost to remind my heart to beat!”

Emily Brontë book Wuthering Heights

Heathcliff (Ch. XXXIII).
Source: Wuthering Heights (1847)
Context: I have neither a fear, nor a presentiment, nor a hope of death. Why should I? With my hard constitution, and temperate mode of living, and unperilous occupations, I ought to, and probably shall remain above ground, till there is scarcely a black hair on my head. And yet I cannot continue in this condition! I have to remind myself to breathe — almost to remind my heart to beat! And it is like bending back a stiff spring — it is by compulsion that I do the slightest act, not prompted by one thought; and by compulsion that I notice anything alive or dead, which is not associated with one universal idea. I have a single wish, and my whole being and faculties are yearning to attain it. They have yearned towards it so long and so unwaveringly, that I’m convinced it will be reached — and soon — because it has devoured my existence. I am swallowed up in the anticipation of its fulfilment. My confessions have not relieved me — but they may account for some otherwise unaccountable phases of humour which I show. Oh, God! It's a long fight, I wish it were over!

Heart

“My father liked me, when I wasna being an idiot. And he loved me, too -- enough to beat the daylights out of me when I was being an idiot. Jamie Fraser”

Diana Gabaldon book Outlander

Source: Outlander

Love

“Does that mean you agree?"
He groaned. "I think it means you crushed my spirit and beat me down."
"Fantastic.”

Cassandra Clare The City of Lost Souls

Source: City of Lost Souls

Thinking

“The prince's robes and beggar's rags,
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent,
Beats all the lies you can invent”

William Blake Auguries of Innocence

Source: Auguries of Innocence

Truth

“You have to go the way your blood beats. If you don't live the only life you have, you won't live some other life, you won't live any life at all.”

James Baldwin (1924–1987) (1924-1987) writer from the United States

Life, Way

“Perfection is a stick with which to beat the possible.”

Rebecca Solnit (1961) Author and essayist from United States

Source: Hope in the Dark

Perfection

“And then there's the sickness I feel from looking at legs I can't touch, or at lips that don't smile at me. Or hips that don't reach for me. And hearts that don't beat for me.”

Markus Zusak book Fighting Ruben Wolfe

Source: Fighting Ruben Wolfe

Smile, Feeling, Heart

“Drummer, beat, and piper, blow
Harper, strike, and soldier, go
Free the flame and sear the grasses
Til the dawning Red Star passes”

Anne McCaffrey book Dragonsong

Source: Dragonsong

Star, Grass

“If you can't beat them. Join them”

Jim Henson (1936–1990) American puppeteer

Source: Jim Henson's Storyteller

“And that is a story that no one can beat,
When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street.”

Dr. Seuss book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937)
Source: And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street

“… sometimes when we are beating ourselves up, we need to stop and say to that harassing voice inside, "Man, I'm doing the very best I can right now."”

Brené Brown (1965) US writer and professor

Source: Rising Strong

“Dinner's in one hour. If you're not back, sitting at the table, I'll beat you all unconscious with a spatula.”

Nora Roberts (1950) American romance writer

Source: Blue Smoke

“You’re not dead,
but you’re not alive, either. You’re a wintergirl, Lia-Lia,
caught in between the worlds. You’re a ghost with a beat-
ing heart. Soon you’ll cross the border and be with me.
I’m so stoked. I miss you wicked.”

Laurie Halse Anderson Wintergirls

Variant: You’re not dead, but you’re not alive, either. You’re a wintergirl, Lia-Lia, caught in between the worlds. You’re a ghost with a beating heart. Soon you’ll cross the border and be with me. I’m so stoked. I miss you wicked.
Source: Wintergirls

World, Heart, Dead

“One fine day, in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other. They pulled out their swords and shot one another. One deaf cop, on the beat heard the noise, and came and shot the two dead boys.”

Holly Black (1971) American children's fiction writer

Source: Valiant

Boy, Fight, Night, Dead

“Never quit, Rikki. No one can beat you if you don't quit.”

Robert Ferrigno (1947) American writer

Heart of the Assassin

“Not that my regularly scheduled life was so great, but it beat getting judged unworthy by twelve bearded guys named Erik.”

Rick Riordan book The Sword of Summer

Source: The Sword of Summer

Life, Guy

“Hours later the blank sheet still stared at me, and I beat my fist against the desk in fury and fustration, striking it so hard my hand bled. That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.”

Patrick Rothfuss book The Wise Man's Fear

Source: The Wise Man's Fear

Secret

“daddy says the world is
a drum tight and hard
and i told him
i’m gonna beat
out my own rhythm”

Nikki Giovanni (1943) American writer and academic

World

“So much of the language of love was like that: you devoured someone with your eyes, you drank in the sight of him, you swallowed him whole. Love was substance, broken down and beating through your bloodstream.”

Jodi Picoult book Nineteen Minutes

Source: Nineteen Minutes

Love

“I want you to have big dreams, big goals. I want you to strive to achieve them. But I don't want to see you beating yourself up every time you make a mistake.”

Kelley Armstrong The Gathering

Source: The Gathering

Dreams, Time

“I can offer you my life, but it is a short life; I can offer you my heart, though I have no idea how many more beats it shall sustain”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

Life, Idea, Heart

“Myrnin was silent for a beat, and then he said, "Bob would be very disappointed in you.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Black Dawn

Disappointment

“Stars aren’t supposed to cry. They’re supposed to laugh. (Zarek)
How can I laugh when I have no heart? (Astrid)
You have a heart. (He placed her hand over his.) One that only beats for you, princess. (Zarek)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon book Dance with the Devil

Source: Dance with the Devil

Star, Heart, Princess, Cry

“And even now she beats her head against the bars in the same old way and wonders if there is a bigger place the railroads run to from Chicago where maybe there is
romance
and big things
and real dreams
that never go smash.”

Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) American writer and editor

Dreams, Way

“Boys never believe I can beat them, she told me back then. But I always win in the end.”

Holly Black book Black Heart

Source: Black Heart

Boy

“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian

Funny

“Could you please stop with the beating? (Kat)
He’s being punished. Hello? This is Tartarus, remember the purpose of this part of the Underworld? We’re not really warm and fluffy over here. (Hades)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Devil May Cry

Parting

“In a way, I was incrediibly proud of her (not that I had any intention of letting it show while I was beating the crap out of her).”

Meg Cabot (1967) Novelist

Way

“Somewhere in all the snow, she could see her broken heart, in two pieces. Each half was glowing, and beating under all that white.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

Heart

“I don't care if I pass your test, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can cheat, so can I. I won't let you beat me unfairly - I'll beat you unfairly first.
- Ender”

Orson Scott Card book Ender's Game

Source: Ender's Game

Cheating

“The same boys who got detention in elementary school for beating the crap out of people are now rewarded for it. They call it football.”

Laurie Halse Anderson Speak

Source: Speak

People, School, Boy, Football

“Don't beat yourself up for not knowing the answers. You don't always have to know who you are. You don't have to have the big picture, or know where you're heading. Sometimes, it's enough just to know what you're going to do next.”

Sophie Kinsella book The Undomestic Goddess

Source: The Undomestic Goddess

“Can a heart break, once it's stopped beating?”

Tim Burton (1958) American filmmaker

Source: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride: The Illustrated Story

Heart

“whiskey makes the heart beat faster
but it sure doesn't help the
mind and isn't it funny how you can ache just
from the deadly drone of
existence?”

Charles Bukowski book The People Look Like Flowers at Last

Source: The People Look Like Flowers at Last

Help, Heart

“Good-bye -- if you hear of my being stood up against a stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease or falling down the cellar stairs.”

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

Life, Age, Disease, Way

“Men shake hands after they beat each other up; we eat chocolate.”

Nora Roberts Vision in White

Source: Vision in White

Men

“She was his north star, the fixed point round which his world turned. For as long as his heart beat, or hers, he believed they would always share a destiny.”

David Gemmell (1948–2006) British author of heroic fantasy

Source: Fall of Kings

World, Star, Heart

“If he killed her I’m going to beat him bloody and eat him piece by piece, slowly, with steak sauce.”

Karen Marie Moning (1964) author

Source: Iced

“If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.”

George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian

“Are we biology or God or something higher? I know my heart beats and I listen to it. The beat is biology, but what is the song?”

James Frey (1969) American screenwriter and media presenter

God, Heart

“So," Annabeth said, "are you going to argue about me coming along?"
"Nah. You'd just beat me up." Percy said.
She managed a laugh, which was good to hear”

Rick Riordan book The Last Olympian

Source: The Last Olympian

“Don't be ridiculous, Charlie, people love the parents who beat their kids in department stores. It's the ones who just let their kids wreak havoc that everybody hates.”

Christopher Moore book A Dirty Job

Source: A Dirty Job

For Parents, Love, Hate, People

“Love, love, love, says Percy.
And hurry as fast as you can
along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.
Give up your body heat, your beating heart.
Then, trust.”

Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American writer

Love, Sleep, Heart

“Whether the bear beats the wolf or the wolf beats the bear, the rabbit always loses.”

Robert Jordan book The Eye of the World

Source: The Eye of the World

Wolf

“Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) 20th century English author

Ash-Wednesday (1930)

Death, Flying

“So go out and live real good and I promise you'll get beat up real bad. But, in a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars. It will matter if you didn't live.”

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

Dead

“You've influenced the world not because you wanted to hug it and cuddle it and call it sweet thing, but because one day you wanted to beat the crap out of somebody but you didn't. You made a painting instead.”

Libba Bray Going Bovine

Source: Going Bovine

World, Painting

“And no matter what anybody says about grief and about time healing all wounds, the truth is, there are certain sorrows that never fade away until the heart stops beating and the last breath is taken.”

Tiffanie DeBartolo (1970) American writer

Truth, Time, Heart

“Kyo Sohma: angrily pointing at Yuki Just like I'll beat you one of these days
Yuki: looking bored Wait wait I think I've heard this one before”

Natsuki Takaya (1973) Manga artist

Thinking, Waiting

“We all take a beating every day, you know, one way or another.”

Ernest Hemingway book The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Source: The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Way

“Gold to airy thinness beat.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

“When you beat up someone physically, you get excercise and stress relief; when you assault him verbally on the Internet, you just harm yourself.”

Nassim Nicholas Taleb book The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Source: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

“The good thing about being explosive is that no one can beat you.”

Neal Shusterman book Unwind

Source: Unwind

“You can't beat women anyhow and that if you are wise or dislike trouble and uproar you don't even try to.”

William Faulkner (1897–1962) American writer

Women

“Gold don't come off. What's good stays good no matter how much of a beating it takes.”

Joe Hill (1879–1915) Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World

Source: NOS4A2

“Tell me, did you summon me just so you could beat the crap out of me? Or is there a more productive reason for why I’m here? (Eros)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon Fantasy Lover

Source: Fantasy Lover

“Taureans are stubborn as hell. Theywant to tell you what sign they are…. But underneath that tough Taurus hide beats the heart of a hopeless romantic.”

Armistead Maupin (1944) American writer

Hell, Heart

“I got 27 people livin in my head and all of them was about to beat the heck out of you for doin that..”

Tyler Perry (1966) American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter

People

“He doesn’t beat me,” I said irritably. “I’d kill him if he did.”
“She would. She has a temper. Stubborn, too. But we’re working on that, aren’t we, Ms. Lane?”

Karen Marie Moning (1964) author

Source: Bloodfever

“We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn't hear, long after the music actually stopped.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: Steelheart

People, Music, Dance

“Let me feel how thy pulses beat.”

Thomas Middleton The Changeling

Source: The Changeling

Feeling

“Most people were heartless about turtles because a turtle’s heart will beat for hours after it has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too.”

Ernest Hemingway book The Old Man and the Sea

Source: The Old Man and the Sea

People, Heart

“Why not just live in the moment, especially if it has a good beat?”

Goldie Hawn (1945) American actress, film director, and producer.

“A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

Source: The Great Gatsby

Business

“My mom beat me up," I informed my reflection. It looked back sympathetically.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Moms

“Star-crossed lovers desperate to get home together. Two hearts beating as one. Romance.”

Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games

Source: The Hunger Games

Home, Star, Lovers, Heart

“How many kids are in the Graveyard?"
"A bunch."
"Who sends your supplies?"
"George Washington. Or is it Abraham Lincoln? I forget."
"How often do you receive new arrivals?"
"About as often as you beat your wife.”

Neal Shusterman (1962) American novelist

Source: UnWholly

Forgetting

“My heart skipped a beat and then flat-out tripped over itself and fell on its face. Then my heart stood up, brushed itself off, took a deep breath and announced: "I want a spiritual teacher.”

Elizabeth Gilbert book Eat, Pray, Love

Source: Eat, Pray, Love

Teachers, Heart

“They attacked you? (Danger)
No, I beat my own self up. What do you think? (Keller)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Sins of the Night

Thinking

“I've got a good mind to go out and join a club and beat you over the head with it.”

Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian

“No one is better at not beating America than England.”

Jon Stewart (1962) American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian

“Now," said Halt, "all I have to do is work out a way of beating these horse-riding devils."
Erak grinned at him. "That should be child's play," he said. "The hard part will be convincing Ragnak about it.”

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

Source: The Battle for Skandia

Way, Horse, Parting

“One man that has a mind and knows it can always beat ten men who haven't and don't.”

George Bernard Shaw The Apple Cart

The Apple Cart (1928), Act I
1920s

Men

“If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”

George Eliot book Middlemarch

Source: Middlemarch

Life, Feeling, Silence, Grass

“I can offer you my life, though it is a short life. I can offer you my heart, though I have no idea how many beats it shall sustain. But I love you enough to hope the rest of my life-whatever its length-happy, by spending it with you.-Jem.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

Love, Life, Hope, Idea

“It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”

Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist

As quoted in "Ali's Quotes" at BBC Sport : Boxing (17 January 2007)

Back To Work, People, Bird, Grass

“It isn't deep," the Eddisian Ambassador said from the other side of the bed. He was leaning over the wound, looking critical and mildly disappointed. Eugenides didn't miss a beat.
"It is… too… deep!" he insisted, outraged.”

Megan Whalen Turner The King of Attolia

Source: The King of Attolia

Disappointment

“You know, I've lived a long time," he told me, massaging my calf more firmly now. "And I met a lot of people. But I ain't never met a woman made me want to beat her to death as often as you.”

Karen Chance American writer

Source: Hunt the Moon

Death, People, Time

“Mahoney: "Thirty-seven seconds. Great, well done; now we wait."

Mr. Magorium: "No, we breathe, we pulse, we regenerate. our hearts beat, our minds create, our souls ingest. Thirty-seven seconds well used is a lifetime.”

Suzanne Weyn book Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Source: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Soul, Waiting, Heart

“Can I love someone… and still think/fly? Love is flying, sown, floating. Thought is solitary flight, beating wings.”

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

Source: As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980

Love, Thinking, Flying

“I'm starting to understand that fear is like cancer - you can beat it back, but if it returns, it can be worse than ever.”

Darren Shan Slawter

Source: Slawter

Fear, Understanding

“Rose: "Wow. You beat up your dad. I mean, that's really horrible… what happened. But, wow. You really are a god."…
Dimitri: "What?"
Rose: "Uh, nothing.”

Richelle Mead Vampire Academy

Variant: Wow." I hadn't thought Dimitri could be any cooler, but I was wrong. "You beat up your dad. I mean, that's really horrible... what happened. But, wow. You really are a god."
He blinked. "What?"
"Uh, nothing.
Source: Vampire Academy

God