Back by popular demand … "The dogs are sticking to the sidewalks" and other memorable phrases from the literati. (Can you think of a better description of the cold weather than Thornton Wilder’s?) Here are some more of Judith Martin’s favorite literary phrases. Click here to see the first round and then tell us your oft-used literary quotations. 

Warnings:

"If you are squeamish, don’t prod the beach rubble."
—Sappho

"One day I shall burst my bud of calm and blossom into hysteria."
—The Lady’s Not For Burning, by Christopher Fry

For when you are full of yourself:

"I apologize for boasting, but once you know my qualities, I can drop back into a quite brilliant humility."
—The Lady’s Not For Burning, by Christopher Fry

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair."
—Ozymandias, by Shelley

"Do you think the Queen knows all about me?"
[To which the other person responds] "Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea."
—A. A. Milne

Responses to criticism:

"Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to restrain."
—William Blake

"A naked queen is clothed in her dignity."
—Tiger at the Gates, by Jean Giraudoux

Caught not listening:

"I wasn’t asleep (said the Dormouse): I heard every word you fellows were saying."
(Said in a voice that trails off into sleep.)
—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

"Tarsome."
—Georgie’s comment on almost everything, in E. F. Benson’s Lucia series

Cold day:

"The dogs are sticking to the sidewalks."
—The Skin of Our Teeth, by Thornton Wilder

Comment on editor, useful in newsrooms:

"[His] definition of genius is the art of finding people at home."
—The Death of the Lion, by Henry James

Click here for more of Judith Martin’s classic book references.