Nero Wolfe: A Family Affair and Please Pass the Guilt

[cimorene]

The only thing I had against him was his buttoned-down shirt collar. A man who hates loose flaps so much that he buttons down his collar should also button down his ears.

“I have told you a dozen times, sarcasm is the most futile of weapons. It doesn’t cut, it merely bounces off."

• “I try to know what I need to know. I make sure to know what I want to know.”
  
  “What if it’s unknowable?”
  
  “Only philosophers and fools waste time on the unknowable. I am neither."


• One of my basic opinions is that people who take things for granted should be helped to a better understanding of democracy.


• The only thing I had against him was his buttoned-down shirt collar. A man who hates loose flaps so much that he buttons down his collar should also button down his ears.


• "Display, like diffidence, is commendable only when it avails."


• "Mr. Wolfe would like to speak to Mr. Browning.”
  
  “Nero Wolfe?”
  
  “Yes.”
  
  “What about?”
  
  “I don’t know. It must be important, since Mr. Browning called him a cheap bully only a couple of hours ago.”
  
  “I’ll see. Hold the wire.”

—Please Pass the Guilt


• “You make it a joke. Death is not a joke.”
  
  “Sure it is. It’s life that’s not a joke."


• "The constant petty behests of life permit few opportunities for major satisfactions, and when one is offered it should be seized."


• “I have told you a dozen times, sarcasm is the most futile of weapons. It doesn’t cut, it merely bounces off."

—A Family Affair

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

Such good ones. Thank you for doing this.

[cimorene]

Unfortunately I seem to have finished the Wolfe books now, but I still have some collections of characterization related quotes to post.

[princessofgeeks]

After I finished them all I went back and read them in order again! LOL

[cimorene]

Still a possibility, but I also have a three-page list of books I've been meaning to read and like five more mysteries by other people on my phone 😅