Questions tagged [quotes]
Questions about popular quotes from a work.
130 questions
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Intimate experimentation with primates
So... reading a story involving orangutans reminded me of a joke I encountered, involving a discussion between two (or more) characters.
It is observed that humans and apes cannot (viably) procreate. ...
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Trying to identify a story with a humorous quote regarding cooking eggs extra hard
I recall reading a humorous character dialog about cooking eggs extra hard.
Guessing a Heinlein story, or Keith Laumer, but no success finding it so far.
The character was ordering a meal and ...
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Are these two lines from Scott's audiobook scene in Quantumania present in the real-life memoir?
In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), there's a humorous scene where Scott Lang is caught listening to the audiobook version of his own memoir, Look Out For The Little Guy! (which Marvel has ...
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Quote - the second replicator will be free
Looking for a quote, I think it was in an essay by Clarke or Asimov. It was speculating about the possible future development of a device similar to a Star Trek style replicator. The quote was ...
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What is the source for this urban fantasy quote comparing the supernatural world to the insect world?
I had been browsing TV Tropes when I came across this very interesting quote from an urban fantasy or paranormal romance story that stuck with me. The quote went something along the lines of..."...
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In The Lord of the Rings, did anyone ever say "The fellowship is now complete."?
I have seen some references to this quote, but can't confirm if it was a real line, in either the books or movies. Is it perhaps a Mandela effect, or a reference from something else?
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Looking for a Discworld quote involving Rincewind running away and not looking behind
Rincewind is running away (obviously) and the quote goes along these lines:
A less experienced coward might take a moment to look over their shoulder, but Rincewind knew better. Nothing he saw could ...
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Quote from Discworld about Ankh-Morpork tolerance and greed
In one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, he writes something along these lines:
The residents of Ankh-Morpork are willing to welcome everyone. No matter what sex, what species, and what race: ...
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Faith cannot move mountains but can create someone who can (Discworld)
In one of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett he wrote something along the lines of:
Faith cannot move mountains but can create someone who can
I think it is from "Reaper Man" but I ...
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What is the origin behind the line "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."
Famously, in The Undiscovered Country has this line by Chancellor Gorkon, in response to Spock quoting Hamlet:
You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.
...
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Origin of quote along the lines of "Q: Where do you get your ideas from? A: I get them from Saskatchewan."
Looking for the author and exact words of a quote.
A science fiction writer was asked too many times "Where do you get your ideas from?"
He came up with a sarcastic reply along the lines of:...
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Is this Peter Pan quote attributable to J.M.Barrie?
The following quote is spoken at the very beginning of the 1953 Peter Pan Movie:
All this happened before, and it will happen again. But this time it happened in London.
This is similar to the line ...
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Looking for quote and source
The book covers such a long period of time, history up to current time is covered in one sentence, something like,”It was a time of great religious and political turmoil.”
I was sure it was from “Last ...
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What are all the times Gandalf was either late or early?
Gandalf, who is ever-quotable is well known for saying:
A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.
I often cite this to re-assure my friends who're being harsh ...
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19
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Source of Heinlein quote, “I don’t see how an article of clothing can be indecent. A person, yes.”
I came across this quote
I don’t see how an article of clothing can be indecent. A person, yes.
In the context I saw it used, it was clearly a quotation of someone else, but unattributed. I searched ...
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In what context did Garak (ST:DS9) speak of a lie between two truths?
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there were a number of scenes of conversations between Garak and Dr. Bashir. I'm pretty sure there was one in which Garak says something like "a lie is most ...
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Where does this (supposedly) Gibson quote come from?
Where does "The future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed" come from?
It has been attributed to Gibson, usually supposedly in The Economist of Dec 4th, 2003, which I'm ...
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What is the RotS Yuuzhan Vong quote?
I’ve seen it be referenced several times on this website, and despite reading my copy of Revenge of the Sith, couldn’t find it.
Edit:
My copy of the book is Scholastic, written by Patricia C. Wrede “...
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Immature or wise beyond your years quote from the Ender's Game books
I've been searching for tens of minutes for this quote from the Ender's Game series of books by Orson Scott Card, but can't find it.
The son of the family Ender befriends is mentioned by the elders to ...
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What is Qubit's equivalent to the Doctor's "Allons-y"?
In the Irredeemable comic universe, at one point, Qubit uses a German phrase with a connotation very similar to the "Allons-y" used by the Doctor of Doctor Who.
What is that phrase, and in ...
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Which Terry Pratchett book starts with "Zoom in"?
This is driving me crazy. I think it's one of the Bromeliad Trilogy, where the narration starts like.
Start with the earth. Find somewhere green. Zoom in, zoom in further. A tree. Zoom in even more. ...
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What did Professor Bernardo de la Paz mean exactly in his quote from The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress?
One of the many famous quotes from Professor Bernardo de la Paz in Robert Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is the following, originating from his discussion with Wyoming on what they believe in....
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In what context did Tolkien say "evil cannot create anything new"?
Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made.
I see this quote a lot in the comments under the new Amazon The Rings of Power teaser trailer.
...
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Was Douglas Adams specifically joking about British small talk?
There's this paragraph in the book:
“One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious, as ...
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What is the significance of the title "Fiat Voluntas Tua" (a quote from the Latin "Our Father") as a section title in A Canticle for Leibowitz?
When Walter M. Miller Jr. originally wrote the novelettes that he later fixed up to become A Canticle for Leibowitz, they were titled:
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" (The Magazine of Fantasy ...
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Who said, "The only way to model an infinitely complex system is with the system, itself"?
I debated whether or not to ask this question here or on History. I concluded to try it here because I'm fairly sure it was said by someone like Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov, and a great many of ...
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Source of the quote "I will blurb your book, or I will read it, but not both"
This is a quote I heard in the mid to late 1980's, attributed to a famous SF author (I usually think it's Larry Niven).
But the quote appears to have fallen into the dreaded Internet Late 1980s ...
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How many times were there "Klingons on/off the starboard bow"?
There two excellent parodies contain either the phrase "Klingons on the starboard bow" or "Klingons off the starboard bow". How many times, if ever, did this exact phrase occur in ...
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Need source for the inverse of "Clarke's Third Law"
I'm looking for the source of a quote that is the inverse of the third of Clarke's Three Laws. It was in a book, article or short story from the late 1990's to early 2000's.
I remember that the ...
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Did Douglas Adams say "I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe."?
I like the quote:
I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe.
It seems to sum up some of the weird things and coincidences I encounter in life. The quote is allegedly from ...
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Which sci-fi book is this quote from? [duplicate]
I vaguely recall a quote that I was sure was from Ender's Game -- but it's not, as I just finished reading it. It could be from one of the other books in the saga.
It says something along the lines of:...
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Need a quote from The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick
Having read it 20+ years ago in a very different language, I can offer only my own translation back to English: "Hellgate is not a place, it's a state of mind." Appears close to the end of ...
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Is there a conversation regarding heroes and common people in "The Lord of the Rings"?
I recall an exchange early in "The Lord of the Rings" regarding heroes. One character laments that there is not a hero available to handle the task laid before them, and another character ...
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2
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What Marx Bros. production does Manhunter watch in "New Frontier"?
In DC's New Frontier, J'onn watches the Marx Brothers on TV. Is it an actual movie or show, and if so, what's the name? I'm trying to match the quote (specifically, who's speaking to Groucho), but ...
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0
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You know this Ben Grimm/Thing quote?
I watched a Marvel AMV video on YouTube.
In one of the Marvel comics, the Thing teams up with a few superheroes to take down a villain. They were maybe the Hulk, Gladiator, and the Silver Surfer. The ...
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What author joked that his writing skill came from a magical amulet
About 10 years ago I read a great quote from a scifi/fantasy writer. Unfortunately I have forgotten both where I read it and who wrote it, but I would like to find it again.
The quote was, as far as I ...
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Looking for a Neal Stephenson passage on religion as inoculation / vaccination / prophylactic
I recall a section in a Neal Stephenson book where a couple that secretly went to church (or at least didn't make it known) with their kids. As I recall it, they did this not because they were ...
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Heinlein, "Everything not compulsory was forbidden," in "Coventry?"
There is a satirical phrase, "Everything not forbidden is compulsory," which seems to have been a part of popular culture (in varied form) in the English-speaking world in the early 20th century. It ...
user2490
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Source for Frodo/Gandalf exchange about wounds in "The Return of the King"
Could someone kindly tell me exactly where in the book this quote is found? I need it for an exam tomorrow.
'Are you in pain, Frodo?' said Gandalf quietly as he rode by Frodo's side.
'Well, yes I am,'...
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Robert Heinlein character quote about Hell and kittens
I keep vaguely remembering a character in one of Robert Heinlein's books saying something along the lines "there was a special place in hell for child molesters and people who drown kittens."
I just ...
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What does this quote in Small Gods refer to?
In Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett, the following quote appears:
It was something he shared with tortoises. Watch any tortoise walking,
and periodically it will stop while it files away the ...
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Origin of "and so it goes" quote in science fiction
Most online searches for the phrase "and so it goes" lead to Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut published in 1969.
However it is used a few times in "“Repent Harlequin” said the ...
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Source of this quote in "The Algebraist" by Iain M. Banks
There is a section in the book where the Archimandrite Luseferous is reading aloud to a captive preserved enemy head. The passage he reads is:
It is a given amongst those who care to study such ...
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What is the source of this quote about Doombreed?
On the Spanish Wiki page, we have this quote about the Daemon Lord Doombreed, attributed to Richter Kless:
Un antiguo Príncipe de Khorne llamado Doombreed empujará a los mejores y más puros de la ...
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Meaning of the quote: "Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things."?
Would someone mind explaining this quote?
“Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things”
It seems to be at complete odds with the title "Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker"
...
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Story with quote about oral sex and eyelashes, possibly Heinlein
Maybe fifteen years ago I read a story in which a character says, of the act of performing oral sex on a woman, that if your eyelashes don’t get wet, you’re doing it wrong—or words to that effect.
In ...
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What novel is this quote from?
I have been trying to figure out what this quote is from. It's almost definitely from a fantasy novel, but I've checked likely books that I'm familiar with (Tolkien, Sanderson) and I can't figure it ...
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In Empire Strikes Back, does anyone directly quote the Godfather?
In my mind I can remember Han Solo or Lando saying "he made us an offer we couldn't refuse" in reference to Darth Vader. Did I imagine it?
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Is it stated in Shadow or Mordor / War (outside the appendix) that Celebrimbor gave Sauron's One Ring it's own will
In the appendix of Shadow of Mordor for The One Ring it says
"The One Ring was forged at Orodruin and perfected by his captive, the Elven lord Celebrimbor. Sauron invested much of his power into ...
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What is "DON'T PANIC" a reference to on the dashboard of Elon Musk's car?
SpaceX recently launched the Falcon Heavy into space while carrying Elon Musk's car to be sent into orbit around Mars. (News article reference) During the launch, footage was shown of a space suit ...
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