He knew about other languages, but as a decent Londoner he vaguely disapproved of them, knowing full well that anyone who wasn’t English was obviously an enemy sooner or later. (Do)
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He was a scallywag, a chancer, a ruthless fighter and a dangerous driver of bargains over the speed limit. Since it was a bit of a mouthful, he was referred to as a successful businessman, since that more or less amounted to the same thing. (Sn)
They were crude weapons, to be sure, but a flint axe hitting your head does not need a degree in physics. (Sn)
‘… the only important thing in a fight to the death is that the death should not be yours.’ (Sn)
The Nac Mac Feegle were indeed ferocious and fearsome fighters, with the minor drawback – from their point of view – that seconds into any fight, sheer enjoyment took over, and they tended to attack one another, nearby trees and, if no other target presented itself, themselves. (ISWM)
Roland has succeeded in banishing the dreadful aunts, the Baron's sisters who, frankly, even the old Baron thought were as nasty a pair of old ferrets as any man should find down the trousers of his life. (ISWM)
'Why is there a certain cast of the military mind which leads sensible people to do again, with gusto, what didn't work before?' (UA)
Wizards were competitive. It was part of wizardry. Wizards have no more idea of a friendly game than cats have of a friendly mouse. (UA)
It may be quite tough at the top, and it is probably even tougher at the bottom, but halfway up it’s so tough you could use it for horseshoes. By then all the no-hopers, the lazy, the silly and the downright unlucky have been weeded out, the field’s cleared, and every wizard stands alone and surrounded by mortal enemies on every side. (S)
The reason that wizards didn’t rule the Disc was quite simple. Hand any two wizards a piece of rope and they would instinctively pull in opposite directions. (S)
... to say that wizards are healthily competitive by nature is like saying that piranhas are naturally a little peckish. (S)
'We are armed with the truth. What can harm us if we are armed with the truth?’
‘Well, a crossbow bolt can, e.g., go right through your eye and out the back of your head,’ said Sergeant Colon. (MA) ... if I knew I’d got a heel that would kill me if someone stuck a spear in it, I’d go into battle wearing very heavy boots - (CJ)
Cats are like witches. They don’t fight to kill, but to win. There is a difference. There’s no point in killing an opponent. That way, they won’t know they’ve lost, and to be real winner you have to have an opponent who is beaten and knows
it. There’s no triumph over a corpse, but a beaten opponent, who will remain beaten every day of the remainder of their sad and wretched life, is something to treasure. (WA) Magrat knew she had lost. You always lost against Granny Weatherwax, the only interest was in seeing exactly how. (WS)
When people are trying to kill you, it means you’re doing something right. It was a rule Sam had lived by. (Th)
'It’s only your country when they want you to get killed!’ said Tonker. (MR)
'The army’s a piece of piss compared to running a pig farm and looking after three lazy brothers.' (MR)
Stopping a battle is much harder than starting it. Starting it only requires you to shout ‘Attack!’ but when you want to stop it, everyone is busy. (MR)
'The army may be crazy, but at least it’s crazy by numbers. It’s reliably insane.' (MR)
'General Tacticus said the fate of a battle may depend upon the actions of one man in the right place, sergeant,’ said Blouse calmly.
‘And having a lot more soldiers than the other bugger, sir,’ Jackrum insisted. (MR) 'He’s a sergeant, and they don’t deserve no respect at all sir. I should know. They’re cunning and artful, if they’re any good. I wouldn’t mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever.' (MR)
'Bein’ a soldier is not hard. If it was, soldiers would not be able to do it.' (MR)
Polly had been soldiering for only a couple of days, but already an instinct had developed. In summary, it was this: lie to
officers. (MR) '... keep out of the way of officers, ‘cos they ain’t healthy. That’s what you learn in the army. The enemy dun’t really want to fight you, ‘cos the enemy is mostly blokes like you who want to go home with all their bits still on. But officers’ll get you killed.' (MR)
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The world has lost Sir Terry, and it's so much the poorer for that. Vale Sir Terry. Categories
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