Top Ten Tuesday: Things Characters Have Said


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The full explanation for this week’s prompt was:

Two overlapping speech bubbles. They are white and have blue borders. Maybe a character said something really profound or romantic or hilarious or heartbreaking. You could share witty one-liners, mic-drop moments, snippets of funny dialogue between multiple characters, catchphrases, quotes that have become a part of pop culture–like “May the odds be ever in your favor.”, etc.

I rarely write down quotes from books, and when I do they tend to be several sentences long and have not become common sayings in modern English. Therefore, I’ll share some famous one-liners and catch phrases instead and hope that I have not misunderstood this topic:

 

“Bah! Humbug!”

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

 

“Big Brother is watching you.”

George Orwell, 1984

 

”All that glitters is not gold”

Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

 

Not all those who wander are lost.

J.R.R. Tolkien, From “The Riddle Of Strider” Poem  in The Fellowship Of The Ring

 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

 

The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42.”

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

(Maybe I have geeky friends, but I’ve heard this quoted more than once when someone has an existential or complex question).

48 Comments

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48 Responses to Top Ten Tuesday: Things Characters Have Said

  1. I’m reading Hitchhiker’s Guide right now. It’s good to know there is an anxwer out there.

  2. These are so great! Love the Dickens and Shakespeare ones. Thanks for sharing, Lydia.

  3. I love the quotes you picked, Lydia. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of my favorite books and I’ve quote this quite a bit.

  4. Athena @ OneReadingNurse

    Hitchhikers was fun but I cannot see how it got so popular 🤣🤣

  5. A Christmas Carol is wonderful. My favorite line is the narrator’s pondering on why doornails are considered the deadest bit of ironmongery in the trade.

  6. You definitely found some great catchphrases! Even as someone who doesn’t read classic lit, I recognize several of these. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my list today!

  7. These are great! You did wonderful with the prompt! I had to go rogue.

  8. I’m pleased to say that I recognized all of these (despite not having read A Tale of Two Cities), even if I don’t usually think of the whole quote from Hitchhikers. Usually my husband and I just make reference to 42 in random moments. We’re more likely to quote “don’t panic” or ask each other if we know where our towels are. 🙂

  9. These all feel like famous quotes to me. My favorite is “Not all those who wander are lost.“ 🙂

  10. Poinsettia

    You definitely picked some great one liners! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!

  11. I am so bad at writing down quotes. I honestly sometimes forget names after I’ve finished a book. haha. I’m so bad with names! I think you did great. I didn’t have the brain span this morning and completely pivoted.

    • No worries, Leslie!

      Pivoting seems to have been a popular tactic this week.

      I do continue to try to leave comments on your site every week. Greg’s blog gave me trouble for a while there, too, but eventually worked. So I’ll keep trying.

      Thank you for all of the friendly comments you leave on my site.

  12. Great choices! I especially like “All that glitters is not gold.”.

  13. ”All that glitters is not gold” is an absolutely classic. Nice list!

  14. Great list, Lydia! I’ve heard all of them except the last one. Happy Tuesday!

  15. While I’ve never read Hitchhiker’s Guide, I have watched the movie and enjoy it whenever I see someone saying the answer is 42.

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
    https://readbakecreate.com/the-js-have-it-ten-titles-starting-with-j/

  16. I have not had the pleasure of reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy yet, but every tine I see someone share from it, it makes me want to. It sounds like a delight. Thanks for sharing!

  17. I had lots of quotes from books to draw on, but none were SAID by characters lol.

  18. These are great. “Hey, Boo.”-Scout To Kill a Mockingbird

  19. Love that one from Shakespeare!
    Classics give me school book report flashbacks!

  20. I love that you put the Shakespeare and the Tolkien next to each other, because Tolkien’s line prior to the one you quote is All that is gold does not glitter. Very clever.

    Great list!

  21. These are some of the best quotes and so memorable! I’m not someone who remembers quotes from books but these ones are so prevalent and meaningful.

  22. Lydia – I love the quotes that you chose, and how many of them are readily familiar to me, although learning where the quotes actually came from was fascinating!

  23. “God bless us, every one.”

    Good picks!

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