β
Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"
"Yes," said Harry stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
"There's no need to call me "sir" Professor."
The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying.
β
β
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6))
β
Death's got an Invisibility Cloak?" Harry interrupted again.
"So he can sneak up on people," said Ron. "Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking...
β
β
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7))
β
It means 'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234'.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Malachi scowled. "I don't remember the Clave inviting you into the Glass City, Magnus Bane."
"They didn't," Magnus said. "Your wards are down."
"Really?" the Consul's voice dripped sarcasm. "I hadn't noticed."
Magnus looked concerned. "That's terrible. Someone should have told you." He glanced at Luke. "Tell him the wards are down.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3))
β
You see, that is the sad, sorry, terrible thing about sarcasm.
It's really funny.
β
β
Brandon Sanderson (Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1))
β
A diary with no drawings of me in it? Where are the torrid fantasies? The romance covers?
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Alec looked at her and shook his head. "How do you manage never to get mud on your clothes?"
Isabelle shrugged philosophically. "I'm pure at heart. It repels the dirt.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2))
β
Have you tried talking to her?"
"No. We've been punching her in the face repeatedly. What? You don't think that will work?
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3))
β
Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires and werewolves and zombies?"
"Of course there are. Although you mostly find zombies farther south, where the voudun priests are."
"What about mummies? Do they only hang around Egypt?"
"Don't be ridiculous. No one believes in mummies.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Why were you lurking under our window?"
"Yes - yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our windows, boy?"
"Listening to the news," said Harry in a resigned voice.
His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.
"Listening to the news! Again?"
"Well, it changes every day, you see," said Harry.
β
β
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5))
β
Are you always a smartass?'
Nope. Sometimes I'm asleep.
β
β
Jim Butcher (Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6))
β
I don't want tea," said Clary, with muffled force. "I want to find my mother. And then I want to find out who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them."
"Unfortunately," said Hodge, "we're all out of bitter revenge at the moment, so it's either tea or nothing.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Itβs fascinating. You know all these words, and theyβre all English, but when you string them together into sentences, they just donβt make any sense.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4))
β
This is what happened in love. One of you cried a lot and then both of you grew sarcastic.
β
β
Lorrie Moore (Like Life)
β
I don't do what I'm told, but I might do what you want if you ask me nicely.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2))
β
A little girl robbed you?" Tessa said.
"Actually, she wasnβt a little girl at all, as it turns out, but a midget in a dress with a penchant for violence, who goes by the name of Six-Fingered Nigel."
"Easy mistake to make," Jem said.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1))
β
Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the PRIVACY of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded.
β
β
Fyodor Dostoevsky
β
I can be quite sarcastic when I'm in the mood.
β
β
J.D. Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye)
β
Sebastian just smiled. βI could hear your heart beating,β he said softly. βWhen you were watching me with Valentine. Did it bother you?β
βThat you seem to be dating my dad?β Jace shrugged. "Youβre a little young for him, to be honest.β
βWhat?β For the first time since Jace had met him, Sebastian seemed flabbergasted.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3))
β
We...we could be friends.'
We COULD be rare specimens of an exotic breed of dancing African elephants, but we're not. At least, I'M not.
β
β
Neil Gaiman (Coraline)
β
Sarcasm doesn't appear to work on him. If that's true, I'm in trouble: It's my normal mode of communication.
β
β
Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1))
β
Can the sarcasm,' he said. 'Please, I always use fresh sarcasm, never canned.
β
β
Laurell K. Hamilton (Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3))
β
They say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," Valkyrie said.
China glanced at her. "They've obviously never met me.
β
β
Derek Landy (Mortal Coil (Skulduggery Pleasant, #5))
β
Silverstream: You idiot!!! What are you doing in my territory???
Graystripe:...Drowning?
Silverstream: Can't you do that in your own territory?
Graystripe: Ah, but who would rescue me there?
β
β
Erin Hunter
β
Sarcasm and compassion are two of the qualities that make life on Earth tolerable.
β
β
Nick Hornby (Songbook)
β
It's wildly irritating to have invented something as revolutionary as sarcasm, only to have it abused by amateurs.
β
β
Christopher Moore (Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christβs Childhood Pal)
β
Don't tell me," Jace said, "Simon's turned himself into an ocelot and you want me to do something about it before Isabelle makes him into a stole. Well, you'll have have to wait till tomorrow. I'm out of commission." He pointed at himself - he was wearing blue pajamas with a hole in the sleeve. "Look. Jammies."
"Jace," Clary said, "this is important."
"Don't tell me," he said. "You've got a drawing emergency. You need a nude model. Well, I'm not in the mood. You could always ask Hodge," he said as an afterthought. "I hear he'll do anything for a -"
"JACE!" she interrupted him, her voice rising to a scream. "JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND AND LISTEN, WILL YOU?
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Oh, and I suppose the apples ate the cheese.
β
β
Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1))
β
I turned to Dionysus. "You cured him?"
"Madness is my specialty. It was quite simple."
"But...you did something nice. Why?"
He raised and eyebrow. "I am nice! I simple ooze niceness, Perry Johansson. Haven't you noticed?
β
β
Rick Riordan (The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4))
β
I'm sorry. I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain.
β
β
Cassandra Clare
β
Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no fibs.
β
β
Oliver Goldsmith (She Stoops to Conquer)
β
While the Clave disapproves of trespassers, oddly they take an even darker view of beheading and skinning people. They're peculiar that way.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1))
β
Well, I'd certainly hate to interrupt your pleasant night stroll with my sudden death."
He blinked. "There is a fine line between sarcasm and outright hostility, and you seem to have crossed it. What's up?
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
Getting married is like trading in the adoration of many for the sarcasm of one.
β
β
Mae West
β
What was up with class today? It was watered-down porn. He practically had you and Patch on top of your lab table, horizontal, minus your clothes, doing the Big Deed.
β
β
Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1))
β
Yet, I didn't understand that she was intentionally disguising her feelings with sarcasm; that was usually the last resort of people who are timid and chaste of heart, whose souls have been coarsely and impudently invaded; and who, until the last moment, refuse to yield out of pride and are afraid to express their own feelings to you.
β
β
Fyodor Dostoevsky (Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Selections from The House of the Dead)
β
Awww," Minho said. "That's almost as sweet as that time she slammed the end of a spear into your shuck face.
β
β
James Dashner (The Death Cure (The Maze Runner, #3))
β
If you are going to do that, would you mind not jostling the bed so much?' came a sarcastic voice near the head board. 'Perhaps you could roll around on the floor.
β
β
Julie Kagawa (The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey, #2))
β
Any game plan? Xypher asked Sin.
Don't die.
I like it. Simple, bold. Impossible. Works for me.
Kat scoffed at his sarcasm. What are you bitching about, Xypher? You're already dead.
He laughed. You know, for once, it's good to be me.
β
β
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter, #11))
β
That's because we keep weapons in the attic, silly boy. Do you think this is the first time monsters have attacked our family?"
"Weapons," Frank grumbled. "Right. I've never handled weapons before."
Grandmother's nostrils flared. "Was that sarcasm, Fai Zhang?"
"Yes, Grandmother."
"Good. There may be hope for you yet.
β
β
Rick Riordan (The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, #2))
β
I am in full possession of the amazing power of being sarcastic.
β
β
Sarah Rees Brennan (The Demon's Covenant)
β
That's the difference between irony and sarcasm. Irony can be spontaneous, while sarcasm requires volition. You have to create sarcasm.
β
β
Christopher Moore (Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christβs Childhood Pal)
β
sarcasm and jokes were often the bottle in which clinical depressives sent out their most plangent screams for someone to care and help them.
β
β
David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest)
β
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.
β
β
Oscar Wilde
β
Brightness...I believe you stray into sarcasm."
"Funny.I thought I'd run straight into it,screaming at the top of my lungs.
β
β
Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1))
β
There is a great need for a sarcasm font.
β
β
Darynda Jones (Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson, #3))
β
Work fast."
"Yeah." I point at the screen. "First I have to wait for my computer to wake up."
"Hurry."
"Okay, I'll wait faster."
"Sarcasm.
β
β
Andy Weir (Project Hail Mary)
β
I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.
β
β
Jane Austen (Northanger Abbey)
β
Hey, Carlos," the Professor says when he walks in. "How was REACH?"
"It sucked."
"Can you be more specific?" my guardian asks.
"It really sucked," I elaborate, sarcasm dripping from every word.
β
β
Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
β
Anger is just anger. It isn't good. It isn't bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters. It's like anything else. You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice."
Constructive anger," the demon said, her voice dripping sarcasm.
Also known as passion," I said quietly. "Passion has overthrown tyrants and freed prisoners and slaves. Passion has brought justice where there was savagery. Passion has created freedom where there was nothing but fear. Passion has helped souls rise from the ashes of their horrible lives and build something better, stronger, more beautiful.
β
β
Jim Butcher (White Night (The Dresden Files, #9))
β
Did you think he was just some lazy pure-blood who needed protection?β His voice dripped sarcasm.
βWell he looks like one! How was I supposed to know he was secretly Rambo in Dockers?
β
β
Jennifer L. Armentrout (Half-Blood (Covenant, #1))
β
Are you insinuatin' that my daughter is a liar?"
"Oh, no, not at all. I'm saying your daughter is a liar. Surely you can appreciate the difference.
β
β
Kami Garcia (Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1))
β
Itβs sarcasm, Josh.β
βSarcasm?β
βItβs from the Greek, sarkasmos. To bite the lips. It means that you arenβt really saying what you mean, but people will get your point. I invented it, Bartholomew named it.β
βWell, if the village idiot named it, Iβm sure itβs a good thing.β
βThere you go, you got it.β
βGot what?β
βSarcasm.β
βNo, I meant it.β
βSure you did.β
βIs that sarcasm?β
βIrony, I think.β
βWhatβs the difference?β
βI havenβt the slightest idea.β
βSo youβre being ironic now, right?β
βNo, I really donβt know.β
βMaybe you should ask the idiot.β
βNow youβve got it.β
βWhat?β
βSarcasm.
β
β
Christopher Moore (Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christβs Childhood Pal)
β
It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what."
[I saw hate in a graveyard -- Stephen Fry, The Guardian, 5 June 2005]
β
β
Stephen Fry
β
The more this guy talked, the more he sounded like a fortune cookie.
β
β
Kelly Creagh (Nevermore (Nevermore, #1))
β
The first time Calypso came to check on [Leo], it was to complain about the noise.
βSmoke and fire,β she said. βClanging on metal all day long. Youβre scaring away the birds!β
βOh, no, not the birds!
β
β
Rick Riordan (The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4))
β
Sarcasm is always at someone's expense.
β
β
Veronica Roth (Divergent (Divergent, #1))
β
Egotist, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.
β
β
Ambrose Bierce (The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary)
β
Well, someone slap my butt and give me a hero cookie. (Nick)
β
β
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Infinity (Chronicles of Nick, #1))
β
I don't profess any religion; I don't think itβs possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words βspiritualβ or βspirituality.'
[Interview, The New Yorker, Dec. 26, 2005]
β
β
Philip Pullman
β
What is your advice to young writers?β
βDrink, fuck and smoke plenty of cigarettes.
β
β
Charles Bukowski (Hot Water Music)
β
I don't know how you persist in being so stubborn-"
"It's a superpower. I was bitten by a radioactive mule.
β
β
Shannon Hale (The Actor and the Housewife)
β
If you say βweβre in this together,β Iβm going to hurl.
β
β
Kelley Armstrong
β
Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind usβlong-range radar, still not in sight.β
Piper leaned over the console. βAre you sure theyβre Roman?β
Leo rolled his eyes. βNo, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course theyβre Roman!
β
β
Rick Riordan (The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, #3))
β
How 'bout a shot of truth in that denial cocktail.
β
β
Jennifer Salaiz
β
I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way...β
βYes, they do that,β said Dumbledore.
β
β
J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6))
β
High School. Societyβs bright idea to put all their aggressive, naive youth into one environment to torment and emotionally scar each other for life.
β
β
Chris Colfer (Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal (The Land of Stories))
β
Lost in thought, it took her several moments to realize that Jace had been saying something to her. When she blinked at him, she saw a wry grin spread across his face. "What?" she asked, ungraciously.
"I wish you'd stop desperately trying to get my attention like this," he said. "It's become embarrassing."
"Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt," she told him.
"I can't help it. I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain."
"Your pain will be outer soon if you don't get out of traffic. Are you trying to get run over by a cab?"
"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "We could never get a cab that easily in this neighborhood.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
How long have you been with Raphael?β
βYou ask a lot of questions for a dead woman.β
βWhat can I say? I prefer to die well-informed.
β
β
Nalini Singh (Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter, #1))
β
Oh no. Oh God. I couldn't possibly be so stupid."
"Don't limit yourself. You can be anything you wish.
β
β
Tessa Dare (A Week to be Wicked (Spindle Cove, #2))
β
Will suspected Jem was in fact cleverer than he was himself - but he lacked Will's tendency to assume the absolute worst about people and proceed from there.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1))
β
Minho snickered and leaned back in his chair. βMan, you are one butt-load of sunshine, let me tell you.
β
β
James Dashner (The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1))
β
That seems like stealing, doesn't it?" Simon pulled a cup toward him. He drew the lid back. "Ooh. Mochaccino." He looked at Magnus. "Did you pay for these?"
"Sure," said Magnus, while Jace and Alec snickered. "I make dollar bills magically appear in their cash register."
"Really?"
"No." Magnus popped the lid off his own coffee. "But you can pretend I did if it makes you feel better. So, first order of business is what?
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2))
β
Marriage is not a process for prolonging the life of love, sir. It merely mummifies its corpse.
β
β
P.G. Wodehouse (The Small Bachelor)
β
Keep up," said an irritable voice in her ear. It was Jace, who had dropped back to walk beside her. "I don't want to have to keep looking behind me to make sure nothing's happened to you."
"So don't bother."
"Last time I left you alone, a demon attacked you," he pointed out.
"Well, I'd certainly hate to interrupt your pleasant night stroll with my sudden death."
He blinked. "There is a fine line between sarcasm and outright hostility, and you seem to have crossed it.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β
the [coat] rack above his head like a javelin.
On the other side of the door was Jace. He blinked. "Is that a coatrack?"
Jordan slammed the coatrack down on the ground and sighed. "If you'd been a vampire, this would have been a lot more useful."
"Yes," said Jace. "Or, you know, just someone with a lot of coats.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4))
β
Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about," Charles Wallace said. "Why should I disillusion them?
β
β
Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1))
β
Let me ask you a question Alex. What do you think is the greatest evil on this plant today?"
"Is that including, or not including you?
β
β
Anthony Horowitz (Eagle Strike (Alex Rider, #4))
β
Can you enter a house uninvited?"
"No."
"Why?"
"That would be rude.
β
β
Abigail Gibbs (Dinner with a Vampire (The Dark Heroine, #1))
β
You are your mother's trueborn son of Lannister."
"Am I?" the dwarf replied, sardonic. "Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he's never been sure."
"I don't even know who my mother was," Jon said.
"Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are." He favored Jon with a rueful grin. "Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs."
And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune.
When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.
β
β
George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1))
β
He seemed only ... annoyed. Annoyed, and sweaty, and hot.
"Yeah, well," he said, "the next time you decide to sneak out of our magically warded apartment through a door that shouldn't really exist, leave a note.
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5))
β
Yes, we'll yell, 'Help, help us, goose girl, and bring the terrifying legion of warrior geese'.
β
β
Shannon Hale (The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern, #1))
β
You like them," I realized.
Noah's eyebrows lifted in question.
"Like as people."
"As opposed to...furniture?"
"They're my PARENTS."
"That is my understanding, yes.
β
β
Michelle Hodkin (The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2))
β
She'd met Colin on a Monday.
She'd kissed him on a Friday.
Twelve years later.
She sighed. It seemed fairly pathetic.
β
β
Julia Quinn (Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgertons, #4))
β
Enormous? Did you just call me FAT? I am not fat. - Jace
β
β
Cassandra Clare
β
Knock him out, Paris!'
'Sure. Want me to spew diamonds from my ass while Iβm at it?
β
β
Gena Showalter (The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1))
β
You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other.
β
β
Richelle Mead (Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, #3))
β
If moneyβs the god people worship, Iβd rather go worship the devil instead.
β
β
Jess C. Scott (Rockstar)
β
What are you doing here?" she asked as she slowed from a jog to a walk and placed her hands on her hips. It would take her a few minutes to get her breathing back to normal. Longer if he kept smiling at her like that.
He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. What about you?"
She opted for the obvious and filled her voice with as much sarcasm as she could. "I live here, actually
β
β
Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1))
β
Katniss: 'What about you? Ive seen you in the market. You can lift hundred pound bags of flour'. I snap at him
Tell him that. Thats not nothing.
Peeta: Yes and Im sure the arena will be full of bags of flour for me to chuck at people.
β
β
Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1))
β
Yes. Reyn is our resident horse master. He has an excellent seat."
I grinned. "I've noticed."
Reyn's face tightened and Nell flushed, looking embarrassed. "It's an equestrian term."
"Really? I thought you were talking about his ass.
β
β
Cate Tiernan (Immortal Beloved (Immortal Beloved, #1))
β
The bastard kissed her. She was so mad, she bit him hard enough to draw blood. Raphael pulled back, lip already beginning to swell. βWe are no longer even, Elena. Youβre now in debt.β
βYou can deduct it from my slow and painful death.
β
β
Nalini Singh (Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter, #1))
β
Simon: So were you following me? Or is it just an amazing coincidence that you happened to be on the roof of a building I was walking by when I got attacked?
Jace: I was following you.
Simon: Is this the part where you tell me you're secretly in love with me?
β
β
Cassandra Clare (City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4))
β
Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves.
"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They
are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration
these last twenty years at least.
β
β
Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
β
Archer?β I asked, raising my eyebrows. Hey, you might be able to take away my magical powers, but the power of sarcasm was still at my disposal. βIs your last name Newport or Vanderbilt? Maybe followed by some numbers? Ooh!β I said, widening my eyes, βor maybe even Esquire!β
Iβd hoped to hurt his feelings or, at the very least, make him angry, but he just kept smiling at me. βActually, itβs Archer Cross, and Iβm the first one. Now what about you?β He squinted. βLetβs see . . . brown hair, freckles, whole girl-next-door vibe going on . . . Allie? Lacie? Definitely something cutesy ending in ie.β
You know those times when your mouth moves but no sound actually comes out? Yeah, thatβs pretty much what happened. And then, of course, my mom took that opportunity to end her conversation with Justinβs parents and call out, βSophie! Wait up.β
βI knew it.β Archer laughed. βSee you, Sophie,β he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house.
β
β
Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1))
β
She was heartily ashamed of her ignorance - a misplaced shame. Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a wellβinformed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.
β
β
Jane Austen (Northanger Abbey)
β
What did Isabelle want?" Jace asked.
Alec hesitated. "Isabelle says the Queen of the Seelie Court has requested an audience with us."
"Sure," said Magnus. "And Madonna wants me as a backup dancer on her next world tour."
Alec looked puzzled. "Who's Madonna?"
"Who's the Queen of the Seelie Court?" said Clary.
"She is the Queen of Faerie," said Magnus. "Well, the local one, anyway."
Jace put his head in his hands. "Tell Isabelle no."
"But she thinks it's a good idea," Alec protested.
"Then tell her no twice.
β
β
Cassandra Clare
β
Just three words? Nothing about his physical health? His equipment? His supplies?'
'You got me,' she said. 'He left a detailed status report. I just decided to lie for no reason.'
'Funny,' Venkat said. 'Be a smart-ass to a guy seven levels above you at your company. See how that works out.'
'Oh no,' Mindy said. 'I might lose my job as an interplanetary voyeur? I guess I'd have to use my master's degree for something else.'
'I remember when you were shy.'
'I'm space paparazzi now. The attitude comes with the job.
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Andy Weir (The Martian)
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Irony and cynicism were just what the U.S. hypocrisy of the fifties and sixties called for. Thatβs what made the early postmodernists great artists. The great thing about irony is that it splits things apart, gets up above them so we can see the flaws and hypocrisies and duplicates. The virtuous always triumph? Ward Cleaver is the prototypical fifties father? "Sure." Sarcasm, parody, absurdism and irony are great ways to strip off stuffβs mask and show the unpleasant reality behind it. The problem is that once the rules of art are debunked, and once the unpleasant realities the irony diagnoses are revealed and diagnosed, "then" what do we do? Ironyβs useful for debunking illusions, but most of the illusion-debunking in the U.S. has now been done and redone. Once everybody knows that equality of opportunity is bunk and Mike Bradyβs bunk and Just Say No is bunk, now what do we do? All we seem to want to do is keep ridiculing the stuff. Postmodern irony and cynicismβs become an end in itself, a measure of hip sophistication and literary savvy. Few artists dare to try to talk about ways of working toward redeeming whatβs wrong, because theyβll look sentimental and naive to all the weary ironists. Ironyβs gone from liberating to enslaving. Thereβs some great essay somewhere that has a line about irony being the song of the prisoner whoβs come to love his cage.
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David Foster Wallace