Clive James
Writer
"Whoever called snooker "chess with balls" was rude, but right."
Rude quotes
Rude
345 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Walt Whitman
Poet, Essayist
"The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first; Be not discouraged - keep on - there are divine things, well envelop'd; I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell."
Rosa Luxemburg
Political Theorist, Activist
"Only to the rude ear of one who is quite indifferent does the song of a bird seem always the same."
Theodor Herzl
Journalist, Writer, Political Activist
"I believe I understand anti-Semitism which is a very complex movement. I see it as a Jew, but without hatred or fear. I recognize what is anti-Semitism is rude jesting, vulgar jealousy of métier, hereditary prejudice; but also what can be considered as in fact legitimate defence."
Tennessee Williams
Playwright
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action."
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Rude quotes (page 1 of 18)
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"The things I see now on TV and in movies are so outlandish. Kids doing rude things with pies! And the language that they use! It's being outrageous for the sake of being outrageous. I can't watch it. It turns me off."
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"Nowadays, we never allow ourselves the convenience of being temporarily unavailable, even to strangers. With telephone and beeper, people subject themselves to being instantly accessible to everyone at all times, and it is the person who refuses to be on call, rather than the importunate caller, who is considered rude."
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"GENTLE READER: You, sir, are an anarchist, and Miss Manners is frightened to have anything to do with you. It is true that questioning the table manners of others is rude. But to overthrow the accepted conventions of society, on the flimsy grounds that you have found them silly, inefficient and discomforting, is a dangerous step toward destroying civilization."
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"A true gentleman is one who is never intentionally rude."
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"It's a rather rude gesture, but at least it's clear what you mean."
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"There cannot be greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse."
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"You can't be truly rude until you understand good manners."
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"True character stands the test of emergencies. Do not be mistaken, it is weakness from which the awakening is rude."
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"The way of Providence is a little rude. The habit of snake and spider, the snap of the tiger and other leapers and bloody jumpers, the crackle of the bones of his prey in the coil of the anaconda-these are in the system, and our habits are like theirs."
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"The rude beginnings of every art acquire a greater celebrity than the art in perfection; he who first played the fiddle was looked upon as a demigod."
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"People are very nice to me, even though I'm known for saying rude things."
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"A letter is an unannounced visit, the postman the agent of rude surprises. One ought to reserve an hour a week for receiving letters and afterwards take a bath."
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"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."
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"Bore: a man who is never unintentionally rude."
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"We are all born rude. No infant has ever appeared yet with the grace to understand how inconsiderate it is to disturb others in the middle of the night."
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"I got in trouble with the police, and that was a rude awakening. That was it. I'd seen the bottom of the pit, and it was time to scrape myself out of it."
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"It is more comfortable for me, in the long run, to be rude than polite."
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"Your story needs to move people’s spirits and build their goodwill, so that when you finally do ask them to buy from you, they feel like you’ve given them so much it would be almost rude to refuse."
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"I don't think there are any rude questions."
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"I wonder if it's rude for a deaf person to talk with food in their hands."
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