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The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Preface

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4.13 Dorothy Parker 1893-1967<br />

Scratch a lover, and find a foe.<br />

‘Ballade <strong>of</strong> a Great Weariness’ (1937)<br />

Oh, life is a glorious cycle <strong>of</strong> song,<br />

A medley <strong>of</strong> extemporanea;<br />

And love is a thing that can never go wrong;<br />

And I am Marie <strong>of</strong> Roumania.<br />

‘Comment’ (1937)<br />

Woman wants monogamy;<br />

Man delights in novelty.<br />

Love is woman’s moon and sun;<br />

Man has other forms <strong>of</strong> fun.<br />

Woman lives but in her lord;<br />

Count to ten, and man is bored.<br />

With this the gist and sum <strong>of</strong> it,<br />

What earthly good can come <strong>of</strong> it?<br />

‘General Review <strong>of</strong> the Sex Situation’ (1937)<br />

Four be the things I’d been better without:<br />

Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.<br />

‘Inventory’ (1937)<br />

Men seldom make passes<br />

At girls who wear glasses.<br />

‘News Item’ (1937)<br />

Why is it no one ever sent me yet<br />

One perfect limousine, do you suppose?<br />

Ah no, it’s always just my luck to get<br />

One perfect rose.<br />

‘One Perfect Rose’ (1937)<br />

If, with the literate, I am<br />

Impelled to try an epigram,<br />

I never seek to take the credit;<br />

We all assume that Oscar said it.<br />

‘A Pig’s-Eye View <strong>of</strong> Literature’ (1937)<br />

Guns aren’t lawful;<br />

Nooses give;<br />

Gas smells awful;<br />

You might as well live.<br />

‘Rèsumè’ (1937)<br />

By the time you say you’re his,

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