Play quotes
12.5K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside play — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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"Man is very well defended against himself... The actual fortress is inaccessible, even invisible to him, unless his friends and enemies play the traitor and conduct him in by a secret path."
"When I’m on the court, I try to play with all my emotion and heart."
"We can't all be Einstein (because we don't all play the violin). At the very least, we need a sort of street-smart science: the ability to recognize evidence, gather it, assess it, and act on it."
"I would have to say that working on 'Warrior' felt more like working on a play than any other film I've ever done."
"There's a difference between the parts that I play and who I am and who people think I am. There's quite a big discrepancy sometimes between those things."
"I simply do not distinguish between work and play."
"Pretending is not just play. Pretending is imagined possibility. Pretending, or acting, is a very valuable life skill and we do it all the time."
"Each time I step on the basketball court, I never know what will happen. I live for the moment. I play for the moment."
"Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched."
"Money is a sort of instinct. It's a sort of property of nature in a person to make money. It's nothing you do. It's no trick you play. It's a sort of permanent accident of your own nature; once you start, you make money, and you go on. . . But you've got to begin. . . You've got to get in. You can do nothing if you are kept outside. You've got to beat your way in. Once you've done that, you can't help it!"
"Play your part in life, but never forget it is only a role."
"Anyone who is observant, who discovers the person they have always dreamed of, knows that sexual energy comes into play before sex even takes place. The greatest pleasure isn't sex, but the passion with which it is practiced. When the passion is intense, then sex joins in to complete the dance, but it is never the principal aim."
"Everybody used to say going to restaurants... is like theater, there's stage sets, there's drama, there's play acting and you watch the show. And now, boy, everything's just become so serious. And you sit at the counter and the chef comes out and tells you what he did to the Brussels sprouts leaves and no, there's not a lot of dancing."
"I sold my soul to the devil in L.A. He said 'sign your name here on the dotted line and your songs they all will play.'"
"I don't understand how a musician can play 90 minutes on stage and then not dedicate a little bit of time to hang out at their merch table. It's not like digging a ditch or something; you're standing there thanking people for coming out to see you."
"You have to play the character in the best way you know how and do what you need to do in order to bring that character to life and not worry about the millions of people that you may be disappointing!"
"Genetics do play a role in how you consciously or subconsciously manifest your true self."
"Have you seen a symphony orchestra? There is a person at the back carrying a triangle. Now and again the conductor will point to him or her and that person will play "ting." That might seem so insignificant, but in the conception of the composer something irreplaceable would be lost to the total beauty of the symphony if that "ting" did not happen."
"Whether it's college or WNBA, its basketball and the more you play the less you need to adjust."
"Anybody who's ever had the privilege of seeing me play knows that I am the greatest pitcher in the world."
