69 Quotes & Sayings By Roald Dahl

I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be. Roald Dahl

Bunkum and tummyrot! You'll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if he'd said 'What if I sink on the way over? What if I meet pirates? What if I never come back?' He wouldn't even have started. Roald Dahl

I'm right and you're wrong, I'm big and you're small, and there's nothing you can do about it. Roald Dahl

A whizzpopper! " cried the BFG, beaming at her. "Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time! Whizzpopping is a sign of happiness. It is music in our ears! You surely is not telling me that a little whizzpopping if forbidden among human beans? Roald Dahl

I'd rather be fried alive and eaten by Mexicans. Roald Dahl

I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I'll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else. Brian Sibley: Or brains even? Oh gosh, yes, brains is one of the least. You can be a lovely person without brains, absolutely lovely. Kindness - that simple word. To be kind - it covers everything, to my mind. If you're kind that's it. . Roald Dahl

I is a dreamblowing giant, ” the BFG said. “(...) I is scuddling away to other places to blow dreams into the bedrooms of sleeping children. Nice dreams. Lovely golden dreams. Dreams that is giving the dreamers a happy time. Roald Dahl

The life of a writer is absolute hell compared to the life of a businessman. The writer has to force himself to work He has to make his own hours and if he doesn't go to his desk at all there is nobody to scold him... A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it. Roald Dahl

The writer walks out of his workroom in a daze. He wants a drink. He needs it. It happens to be a fact that nearly every writer of fiction in the world drinks more whisky than is good for him. He does it to give himself faith hope and courage. A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul and that I am sure is why he does it. Roald Dahl

There are many other little refinements too, Mr. Bohlen. You'll see them all when you study the plans carefully. For example, there's a trick that nearly every writer uses, of inserting at least one long, obscure word into each story. This makes the reader think that the man is very wise and clever. So I have the machine do the same thing. There'll be a whole stack of long words stored away just for this purpose." Where?" In the 'word-memory' section, " he said, epexegetically. . Roald Dahl

I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage. Roald Dahl

So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone. Roald Dahl

The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village. Roald Dahl

This allowed her two glorious hours sitting quietly by herself in a cozy corner, devouring one book after another. When she had read every single children's book in the place, she started wandering round in search of something else. Roald Dahl

I shall never have a bath again, " I said. "Just dont have one too often, " my grandmother said. "Once a month is quite enough for a sensible child." It was at times like these that I loved my grandmother more than ever. Roald Dahl

England once there lived a big And wonderfully clever pig. To everybody it was plain That Piggy had a massive brain. He worked out sums inside his head, There was no book he hadn't read. He knew what made an airplane fly, He knew how engines worked and why. He knew all this, but in the end One question drove him round the bend: He simply couldn't puzzle out What LIFE was really all about. What was the reason for his birth? Why was he placed upon this earth? His giant brain went round and round. Alas, no answer could be found. Till suddenly one wondrous night. All in a flash he saw the light. He jumped up like a ballet dancer And yelled, "By gum, I've got the answer! "" They want my bacon slice by slice" To sell at a tremendous price! " They want my tender juicy chops" To put in all the butcher's shops! " They want my pork to make a roast" And that's the part'll cost the most! " They want my sausages in strings! " They even want my chitterlings! " The butcher's shop! The carving knife! " That is the reason for my life! " Such thoughts as these are not designed To give a pig great piece of mind. Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland, A pail of pigswill in his hand, And piggy with a mighty roar, Bashes the farmer to the floor… Now comes the rather grizzly bit So let's not make too much of it, Except that you must understand That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland, He ate him up from head to toe, Chewing the pieces nice and slow. It took an hour to reach the feet, Because there was so much to eat, And when he finished, Pig, of course, Felt absolutely no remorse. Slowly he scratched his brainy head And with a little smile he said, " I had a fairly powerful hunch" That he might have me for his lunch." And so, because I feared the worst, " I thought I'd better eat him first. . Roald Dahl

I'm wondering what to read next." Matilda said. "I've finished all the children's books. Roald Dahl

There are many things that make a man irritable when he arrives home from work in the evening and a sensible wife will usually notice the storm-signals and will leave him alone until he simmers down. Roald Dahl

Men were foolish and were made only so that they should die, while mountains and rivers went on for ever and did not notice the passing of time. Roald Dahl

Hey, my spaghetti’s moving! ” cried Mr. Twit, poking around in it with his fork.“ It’s a new kind, ” Mrs. Twit said, taking a mouthful from her own plate which of course had no worms. “It’s called Squiggly Spaghetti. It’s delicious. Eat it up while it’s nice and hot. Roald Dahl

There's plenty of money out there. They print more every day. But this ticket, there's only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common money. Are you a dummy? Roald Dahl

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl

The act of copulation is like that of picking the nose. It's all right to be doing it yourself but it is a singularly unattractive spectacle for the onlooker. Roald Dahl

It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful. Roald Dahl

..the more risks you allow children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves. If you never let them take any risks, then I believe they become very prone to injury. Boys should be allowed to climb tall trees and walk along the tops of high walls and dive into the sea from high rocks.. The same with girls. I like the type of child who takes risks. Better by far than the one who never does so. Roald Dahl

Down vith children! Do them in! Boil their bones and fry their skin! Bish them, sqvish them, bash them, mash them! Brrreak them, shake them, slash them, smash them! Offer chocs vith magic powder! Say “Eat up! ” then say it louder. Crrram them full of sticky eats, Send them home still guzzling sveets. And in the morning little fools Go marching off to separate schools. A girl feels sick and goes all pale. She yells, “Hey look! I've grrrown a tail! ” A boy who's standing next to her Screams, “Help! I think I'm grrrowing fur! ” Another shouts, “Vee look like frrreaks! There's viskers growing on our cheeks! ” A boy who vos extremely tall Cries out, “Vot's wrong? I'm grrrowing small! ” Four tiny legs begin to sprrrout From everybody rrround about. And all at vunce, all in a trrrice, There are no children! Only MICE! . Roald Dahl

Children should never have baths, ’ my grandmother said. ‘It's a dangerous habit.’‘ I agree, Grandmamma. Roald Dahl

I was glad my father was an eye-smiler. It meant he never gave me a fake smile because it's impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren't feeling twinkly yourself. A mouth-smile is different. You can fake a mouth-smile any time you want, simply by moving your lips. I've also learned that a real mouth-smile always has an eye-smile to go with it. So watch out, I say, when someone smiles at you but his eyes stay the same. It's sure to be a phony. . Roald Dahl

So Matilda's strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. Roald Dahl

Words', he said, 'is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around. Roald Dahl

You seemed so far away, " Miss Honey whispered, awestruck." Oh, I was. I was flying past the stars on silver wings, " Matilda said. "It was wonderful. Roald Dahl

We may see a Creature with forty-nine heads Who lives in the desolate snow, And whenever he catches a cold (which he dreads) He has forty-nine noses to blow.' We may see the venomous Pink-Spotted ScrunchWho can chew up a man with one bite. It likes to eat five of them roasted for lunch And eighteen for its supper at night.' We may see a Dragon, and nobody knows That we won't see a Unicorn there. We may see a terrible Monster with toes Growing out of the tufts of his hair.' We may see the sweet little Biddy-Bright HenSo playful, so kind and well-bred; And such beautiful eggs! You just boil them and then They explode and they blow off your head.' A Gnu and a Gnocerous surely you'll see And that gnormous and gnorrible GnatWhose sting when it stings you goes in at the knee And comes out through the top of your hat.' We may even get lost and be frozen by frost. We may die in an earthquake or tremor. Or nastier still, we may even be tossed On the horns of a furious Dilemma.'But who cares! Let us go from this horrible hill! Let us roll! Let us bowl! Let us plunge! Let's go rolling and bowling and spinning until We're away from old Spiker and Sponge! . Roald Dahl

I'm afraid men are not always quite as clever as they think they are. You will learn that when you get a bit older, my girl. Roald Dahl

Never get out of bed, never go to the window, and never look behind the curtain. Roald Dahl

It is most unlikely. But--here comes the big "but"--not impossible. Roald Dahl

You must remember that there was virtually no air travel in the early 1930s. Africa was two weeks away from England by boat and it took you about five weeks to get to China. These were distant and magic lands and nobody went to them just for a holiday. You went there to work. Nowadays you can go anywhere in the world in a few hours and nothing is fabulous anymore. Roald Dahl

Some people when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumble and give up. There are others, though they are not many, who will for some reason always be unconquerable. You meet them in time of war and also in time of peace. They have an indomitable spirit and nothing, neither pain nor torture nor threat of death, will cause them to give up. Roald Dahl

A stodgy parent is no fun at all. What a child wants and deserves is a parent who is SPARKY Roald Dahl

She resented being told constantly that she was stupid, when she knew she wasn't. Roald Dahl

Truth is more important than modesty Roald Dahl

It's impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren't feeling twinkly yourself Roald Dahl

I began to realize how simple life could be if one had a regular routine to follow with fixed hours and a fixed salary and very little original thinking to do. The life of a writer is absolute hell compared with the life of a businessman. The writer has to force himself to work. He has to make his own hours and if he doesn’t go to his desk at all there is nobody to scold him. If he is a writer of fiction he lives in a world of fear. Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not. Two hours of writing fiction leaves this particular writer absolutely drained. For those two hours he has been miles away, he has been somewhere else, in a different place with totally different people, and the effort of swimming back into normal surroundings is very great. It is almost a shock. The writer walks out of his workroom in a daze. He wants a drink. He needs it. It happens to be a fact that nearly every writer of fiction in the world drinks more whisky than is good for him. He does it to give himself faith, hope and courage. A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it. Roald Dahl

I cannot for the life of me understand why small children take so long to grow up. I think they do it deliberately, just to annoy me. Roald Dahl

You mean you live down here?' Matilda asked.' I do', Miss Honey replied, but she said no more. Matilda had never once stopped to think about where Miss Honey might be living. She had always regarded her purely as a teacher, a person who turned up out of nowhere and taught at school and then went away again. Roald Dahl

All grown-ups appear as giants to small children. But Headmasters (and policemen) are the biggest giants of all and acquire a marvellously exaggerated stature. Roald Dahl

Having power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it. Roald Dahl

A bad girl is a far more dangerous thing than a bad boy. Roald Dahl

I want an Oompa-Loompa! ' screamed Veruca. Roald Dahl

My darling, " she said at last, are you sure you don't mind being a mouse for the rest of your life?"" I don't mind at all" I said. It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like as long as somebody loves you. Roald Dahl

Thank goodness we don'y meet many people like [Miss Trunchbull] in this world, although they do exist and all of us are likely to come across at least one of them in a lifetime. If you ever do, you should behave as you would if you met an enraged rhinoceros out in the bush--climb up the nearest tree and stay there until it has gone away. Roald Dahl

We are all a great deal luckier that we realize, we usually get what we want - or near enough. Roald Dahl

What sort of a book would you like to read next?" she asked. Roald Dahl

Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream, but doesn’t everything. Those buildings. These lights. This whole city. Somebody had to dream about it first. And maybe that is what I did. I dreamed about coming here, but then I did it. Roald Dahl

Unless you have been to boarding-school when you are very young, it is absolutely impossible to appreciate the delights of living at home. Roald Dahl

A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. Roald Dahl