Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage. – Pubilius Syrus
An inability to stay quiet is one of the conspicuous failings of mankind. – Walter Bagehot
It is better to keep one’s mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and resolve all doubt. – Abraham Lincoln
I am annoyed by individuals who are embarrassed by pauses in a conversation. To me, every conversational pause refreshes. – George Sanders
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. – Ambrose Bierce
To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks. – Ben Jonson
If you wouldn’t write it and sign it, don’t say it. – Earl Wilson
The older I grow the more I listen to people who don’t talk much. – Germain G. Glien
Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness. – Margaret Millar
Among provocatives, the next best thing to good preaching is bad preaching. I have even more thoughts during or enduring it than at other times. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered. – John Ruskin
By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach. – Winston Churchill
If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf. - Lemony Snicket
Study words so that you can use them significantly, effectively, worthily. - Grenville Kleiser
Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving evidence of the fact. - George Eliot, Impressions of Theophrastus Such, 1879
Calvin: Sometimes when I'm talking, my words can't keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we speak.
Hobbes: Probably so we can think twice.
- Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes
Not the fastest horse can catch a word spoken in anger. - Chinese Proverb
Never miss a good chance to shut up. - Will Rogers
One way to prevent conversation from being boring is to say the wrong thing. - Frank Sheed
Talk to people about themselves and they will listen for hours. - Benjamin Disraeli
Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument an exchange of ignorance. - Robert Quillen
Coolidge was known for his terse speech and reticence. A woman bet her friend that she could get Coolidge to speak to her, which was something he was reluctant to do. She went up to him and said: "Hello, Mr. President, I bet my friend that I could get you to say three words to me." "You lose," Coolidge replied dryly, and walked away. - Author Unknown
The difference between a smart man and a wise man is that a smart man knows what to say, a wise man knows whether or not to say it. - Frank M. Garafola
I just wish my mouth had a backspace key. - Author Unknown
No man would listen to you talk if he didn't know it was his turn next. - E.W. Howe
The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech. - George Bernard Shaw
If you keep your mouth shut you will never put your foot in it. - Austin O'Malley
If everybody thought before they spoke, the silence would be deafening. - George Barzan
Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them. - Adlai Stevenson
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said. - Author Unknown
In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet. - Winston Churchill
The best way to keep one's word is not to give it. - Napoleon I, Maxims
Keep your words soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them. - Author Unknown
Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use. - Wendell Johnson
Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand. - Unknown
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. - Attributed to Mark Twain
When you're arguing with a fool, make sure he isn't doing the same thing. - Unknown
Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech. - Martin Farquhar Tupper, "Of Discretion," Proverbial Philosophy
The true genius shudders at incompleteness - and usually prefers silence to saying something which is not everything it should be. - Edgar Allan Poe
The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet. - Ann Landers
Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud. - Hermann Hesse
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. - Dorothy Nevill
Let the talker talk while you think. - F.D. Van Amburgh, The Mental Spark Plug (1923)
The easiest way to save face is to keep the lower half shut. - Author Unknown
Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if he kept his mouth shut. - Author Unknown
Among my most prized possessions are words that I have never spoken. - Orson Rega Card
The more you talk the less you think. - F.D. Van Amburgh, The Mental Spark Plug (1923)
Be careful of your thoughts; they may become words at any moment. - Ira Gassen
Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute. - Josh Billings
Foolishness always results when the tongue outraces the brain. - Author Unknown
The words you choose to say something are just as important as the decision to speak. - Author Unknown
The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid. - Author Unknown
While alone and in silence man can commune with himself. - F.D. Van Amburgh, The Mental Spark Plug (1923)
Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne. - Quentin Crisp
Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled. - Horace
If I were asked to measure a man, I would watch him while his mouth is open. - F.D. Van Amburgh, The Mental Spark Plug (1923)
Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence. - Spanish Proverb
In the days of the Old Testament, it was considered a miracle for an ass to speak, but today it is nothing short of a miracle to keep an ass from talking overtime. - F.D. Van Amburgh, The Mental Spark Plug (1923)
