Dorothy Parker

Saturday, December 20th, 2008

Dorothy Parker was an American writer and critic. For me and I suspect, for many, the enduring memory of her has to be her caustic wit. Just a brief sample of my favourites:

Someone once stepped aside to let her through a door saying, 'Age before beauty,' to which she replied, 'Thank you, pearls before swine.'

'This is not a book to be put aside lightly. It should be hurled with great force.'

And when she was told of the death of Calvin Coolidge (although some say it was Woodrow Wilson), she said 'How can they tell?'

'If you want know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.'

And the one that sums me up:

'The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.'