Help me remember a quote by Anne Boleyn (I think). If I recall correctly, she once told Henry: "I'm too [abc] to be your mistress but too [xyz] to be your wife." I can't for the life of me remember it. Also, [abc] and [xyz] might actually be the same word.
posted by thinkingwoman on Dec 8, 2009 - 1 answer

What is the origin of the phrase "if not a great man, then at least a good one" (or similar). I can't find references from google but I believe I initially saw it presented as a quotation. Thanks.
posted by serazin on Dec 2, 2009 - 6 answers

I'm looking for famous movie quotes that contain either the word "here" or the word "now". [more inside]
posted by painquale on Oct 10, 2009 - 26 answers

I am looking for anecdotes, stories, and pieces of wisdom where "giving up" led to increased happiness and peace of mind. [more inside]
posted by DeltaForce on Sep 15, 2009 - 21 answers

Widely attributed, unreferenced Gandhi quotation: "I like your Christ..." Authentic? [more inside]
posted by goethean on Sep 9, 2009 - 5 answers

Help me identify this mangled and misremembered quote from a movie or television show: "You have got to check out Moby's new restaurant -- He only serves food that's white." [more inside]
posted by lizzicide on Sep 4, 2009 - 7 answers

Quotefilter: "If given the choice between prison and schools, Americans will always choose prisons." Who said it? [more inside]
posted by eflange on Aug 4, 2009 - 6 answers

Give me your best I.T. related words, phrases, and aphorisms. I have worked in a variety of companies, all of which seem to have some interesting lingo and vernacular. I am not looking for stuff like 'cookie', and 'firewall'. More along the lines of: 'Going Dark' - when developers grab a requirements document and disappear for months, 'Snowflake' - a server that has been modified to the point of being unique, fragile, and unrepeatable. Phrases would include things like 'The problem is between the chair and the keyboard', 'XYZ consulting is just a body shop', or 'Those legacy systems are sunsetting'. Help me collect colorful I.T. lingo and proverbs.
posted by jasondigitized on Jul 23, 2009 - 71 answers

Original citation for the quote "What gets measured gets managed?" [more inside]
posted by Mrs Mutant on Jul 23, 2009 - 10 answers

I need some quotes from the movie Flashdance, quick. [more inside]
posted by cosmic osmo on Jun 26, 2009 - 2 answers

Quotefilter: A wise junkie once told me something that sounded suspiciously like a quotation. He said, "They'll spend any amount of your money to protect theirs." Does this ring a bell for anyone? I've had no luck thus far googling for variations.
posted by well_balanced on Jun 18, 2009 - 2 answers

What are some juicy lines of dialogue from James Joyce's Ulysses? I want to greet my friend in a Ulyssean fashion for a Bloomsday celebration later. [more inside]
posted by malapropist on Jun 16, 2009 - 18 answers

Help me remember a quote about 'seeing the big picture'. [more inside]
posted by mockjovial on Jun 12, 2009 - 5 answers

Where can I find old historical exchange rates? Right now I'm looking for the crosses between British Pounds, US Dollars and French Francs in the mid-1950s. [more inside]
posted by b1tr0t on May 31, 2009 - 8 answers

Occasionally I find myself regretting and second-guessing decisions I've made in the past. Whenever this happens, it naturally wreaks havoc on my happiness and self-esteem. I'd like to be able to cheer myself up during such times. What are your favorite quotations about letting go of the past/looking toward the future/stopping regret/living in the present/etc.?
posted by punchdrunkhistory on May 22, 2009 - 23 answers

Did Keynes really say, "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."? [more inside]
posted by CCBC on May 20, 2009 - 11 answers

"The sunrise is a strip-tease between night and day." Is this a Tom Robbins quote (or similar to one)? [more inside]
posted by prwnkle02 on Apr 27, 2009 - 3 answers

There are many great quotes by famous people on why we don't need religion, but where are all the quotes from different religious groups on why we need religion? [more inside]
posted by querty on Apr 13, 2009 - 11 answers

I am writing a short story and I would like to have one of the characters in this story quote a real historical figure. I do not have a specific quote in mind, but I have certain ideas about the character that dictate certain parameters for the quote. I would like to solicit the hivemind for suggestions, as my Google-Fu has thus far failed me in selecting something viable. If you accept this mission, you will find details below the fold. [more inside]
posted by kbanas on Apr 7, 2009 - 26 answers

"It's too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?" Where, other than from Blade Runner, have I heard this quote? [more inside]
posted by CliffDiving44 on Apr 1, 2009 - 12 answers

Awhile back I remember hearing that a famous writer once said something like, "if anyone could go around a city and look through the walls of the houses and offices to see everything that went on in one day--and it wouldn't have to be a big city--it would make that person go completely crazy."

For some reason I thought it was William James who said this, but I've looked through most of his major works and have yet to find it. Does it sound familiar to anyone?
posted by mjklin on Mar 30, 2009 - 10 answers

I need to get streaming futures data to use in software I am developing. What's the best source? [more inside]
posted by Hypocrites on Mar 12, 2009 - 5 answers

Who was it who first said that (paraphrasing) "the American black man is the most imitated man in the world"? [more inside]
posted by CRM114 on Mar 2, 2009 - 9 answers

Excel is chapping my hide. I have a comma-delimited .csv which contains quote-demarcated text fields. The source of my never-ending joy is the recurrent use of inch-marks and commas within the textfields. Right this way... [more inside]
posted by mwhybark on Feb 25, 2009 - 18 answers

MovieQuoteFilter: I'm trying to find the origin of a quote from Waking Life and I'm starting to think it's either misattributed or simply wrong. Help! [more inside]
posted by valkyryn on Jan 28, 2009 - 4 answers

So when did Karl Rove claim that we were on the verge of a 'permanent Republican majority?' [more inside]
posted by Tomorrowful on Dec 29, 2008 - 5 answers

Does anyone know the original french to this quote, "perfection is a lot of little things done well"? [more inside]
posted by ecks on Dec 16, 2008 - 7 answers

Interpersonal relations quotes: I'm painting my room and I want a good quote to go on the wall. [more inside]
posted by alona on Dec 15, 2008 - 19 answers

Please help me find a quote, proverb or poem, about friendship and neighbors. [more inside]
posted by librarianamy on Dec 4, 2008 - 7 answers

Anyone have suggestions for friendship quotes that are cute, but not sappy/cheesy? And short is good. [more inside]
posted by cheemee on Nov 18, 2008 - 27 answers

What are your quotes, literary passages, aphorisms, lyrics, stanzas, etc. about love?
posted by shotgunbooty on Nov 9, 2008 - 52 answers

West Wing Filter: "I thought maybe it was like Toscanini landing in a cornfield." [more inside]
posted by disillusioned on Nov 6, 2008 - 5 answers

What are some good sayings or quotes along the lines of Bill Clinton and the Sphinx from Mystery Men? i.e. the power of our example not the example of our power, before you can learn what I teach i must first teach how to learn, etc....
posted by sorindome on Oct 31, 2008 - 19 answers

A quote, playing on the famous one from Nietzsche about staring into the abyss, that says something about how Horkheimer and Adorno liked to edge right up to the abyss while sipping champagne (and maybe eating caviar?). What's the quote, and who said it?
posted by scribbler on Oct 1, 2008 - 5 answers

"We are gods because we are good men, and we know everything because we started first with knowing our self." Does anyone know who said this? [more inside]
posted by bettershredder on Sep 24, 2008 - 6 answers

Anyone speak Russian? I'm looking for any inspiring Russian (English too) quotes that will make my crush feel good. [more inside]
posted by Student of Man on Sep 21, 2008 - 2 answers

Some journalist once said something to the effect of, "What happened today that didn't happen yesterday. That's what news is. Start typing." Who was the journalist, and what was the exact quote? [more inside]
posted by grrarrgh00 on Sep 4, 2008 - 2 answers

from where do I know the phrase 'I speak of arms and the man'? [more inside]
posted by flowerofhighrank on Jul 27, 2008 - 8 answers

What are some good - or bad - similes for slowness? (Like "As slow as molasses in January" but not so archaic.)
posted by Fuzzy Skinner on Jul 16, 2008 - 40 answers

What 80's movie is this quote from and what exactly is the right quote? Its something like "I've got a girlfriend, we met at Niagara Falls. You wouldn't know her."
posted by minicloud on Jul 3, 2008 - 14 answers

[Quotation source-filter] I've found many references on the Internet to two similar quotes about losing a good reputation. The quotes are attributed to Warren Buffett and Benjamin Franklin, but I haven't been able to pin down what the original source is. The full text of the quotes are inside. [more inside]
posted by eisenkr on Jun 29, 2008 - 3 answers

Trying to remember the text and source of a quote I half-remember. [more inside]
posted by FatherDagon on Jun 26, 2008 - 4 answers

[Wodehouse Quote Filter] Need the exact quotation for a paper. It's Wodehouse I'm sure, but only vaguely remember which character said it or the verbatim of the thing. It's about playing the Piano. [more inside]
posted by Smegoid on Jun 18, 2008 - 9 answers

I am trying to identify a quote - it was something to the effect that "life begins anew in the Fall" or "life begins again in the Fall". I believe it may have been part of the epigraph or dedication of a novel, perhaps by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton or possibly a British novelist. My english teacher explain that the quote referred to the social "season" that started up in the Fall when everyone returned to Town. [more inside]
posted by litchik on Jun 4, 2008 - 3 answers

I once read a book that described a man who predicted the existence of the internet thirty years before its time. He anticipated "a web of information that you can dip in and out of" -- that's the closest to the original quote I can muster. If I'm recall correctly, he was a writer or academic or McLuhan-era media pundit, most likely American. It might also have been a character in a sci-fi book. Can anyone identify the source?
posted by deern the headlice on Jun 1, 2008 - 18 answers

I'm looking for a good quote about pet ownership. [more inside]
posted by Mavri on Mar 11, 2008 - 14 answers

Help me identify a quote about "woe to the society that needs a hero." [more inside]
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth on Feb 17, 2008 - 3 answers

From what movie is the quote (or a variation of said quote ) "Whoa Whoa Whoa! We didn't say nothin' about no kids" from? Maybe something Buscemi or a Buscemi-like character might have said? Its driving me up a wall.
posted by MPnonot3 on Feb 14, 2008 - 10 answers

Who said this quote: "Murder is the most expedient form of criticism"? [more inside]
posted by theperfectcrime on Feb 12, 2008 - 5 answers

Quotefilter: help me find a quote that speaks of both love and writing.... [more inside]
posted by Neonshock on Jan 30, 2008 - 10 answers