Post by John on Nov 29, 2007 11:58:30 GMT -5
Lady Astor is nearly as famous for her scathing wit as she is for her political career. Many of her best known quotes are indicative of her personal and political views, such as feminism, temperance, and conservatism; others are merely humorous.
Some examples:
-I married beneath me. All women do.
-I refuse to admit that I am more than fifty-two, even if that does make my sons illegitimate.
-In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance he laid the blame on a woman.
-My vigour, vitality, and cheek repel me. I am the kind of woman I would run from.
-One reason why I don't drink is because I wish to know when I am having a good time.
-Pioneers may be picturesque figures, but they are often rather lonely ones.
-Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer; into a selflessness which links us with all humanity.
-The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything... or nothing.
-The only thing I like about rich people is their money.
-The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.
-Women have got to make the world safe for men since men have made it so darned unsafe for women.
But by far the most famous were her frequent sharp exchanges with Winston Churchill. He once told her that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, "You’re not handsome enough to have such fears". Another time when Lady Astor was giving a costume ball, Churchill asked her what disguise she would recommend for him. She replied, "Why don't you come sober, Mr Prime Minister?" The most famous of all such anecdotes occurred when Lady Astor said to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd put arsenic in your coffee." He responded, "Madam, if I were your husband, I'd drink it!" Years later, she used the "arsenic in your coffee" line on Senator Joseph McCarthy to somewhat less successful effect.
Some examples:
-I married beneath me. All women do.
-I refuse to admit that I am more than fifty-two, even if that does make my sons illegitimate.
-In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance he laid the blame on a woman.
-My vigour, vitality, and cheek repel me. I am the kind of woman I would run from.
-One reason why I don't drink is because I wish to know when I am having a good time.
-Pioneers may be picturesque figures, but they are often rather lonely ones.
-Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer; into a selflessness which links us with all humanity.
-The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything... or nothing.
-The only thing I like about rich people is their money.
-The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.
-Women have got to make the world safe for men since men have made it so darned unsafe for women.
But by far the most famous were her frequent sharp exchanges with Winston Churchill. He once told her that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, "You’re not handsome enough to have such fears". Another time when Lady Astor was giving a costume ball, Churchill asked her what disguise she would recommend for him. She replied, "Why don't you come sober, Mr Prime Minister?" The most famous of all such anecdotes occurred when Lady Astor said to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd put arsenic in your coffee." He responded, "Madam, if I were your husband, I'd drink it!" Years later, she used the "arsenic in your coffee" line on Senator Joseph McCarthy to somewhat less successful effect.
I was about to conquer the world but then I got distracted by something shiny.
