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Fool Quotes

The line between persistence and being foolish.

These quotes explore self-doubt and misjudgment - the anxious voice questioning an unpublished writer's talent, and the classic warning against underestimating your reader's intelligence. Related: Foolish.

Any woman can fool a man if she wants to and if he's in love with her.

Agatha Christie

If you are prepared to make a fool of yourself for them then you usually get that back. I think that there are points where you become so close to an actor, you know them so well, almost as well...

Quotes by Adrian Lyne

There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody.

Quotes by Adlai Stevenson I

People love Batman, and I would be stupid, I would be a fool if I didn't love Batman.

Quotes by Adam West

Fooled Quotes

Jamie's gonna go take a break now, and i am going to continue the on-going process of making a fool of myself and go ahead and try it myself.

Quotes by Adam Savage

I was in high school. A couple of my friends and I decided we had to be in a class together where we could fool around, and drama was it because we'd do improvs, beating each other up. They left...

Quotes by Adam Beach

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

Abraham Lincoln

Shinsuke Nakamura is probably one of the best wrestlers I've ever been in the ring with. He's very unorthodox. Everything he does is with knockout power. He's a guy who is very flamboyant, so don't let his Michael Jackson antics...

Quotes by A.J. Styles

A fellow who is always declaring he's no fool usually has his suspicions.

Quotes by Wilson Mizner

Foolish Quotes

He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool; what is wit in a wife good for, but to make a man a cuckold?

Quotes by William Wycherley

Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.

William Shakespeare

If you make a fool of yourself, you can do it with dignity, without taking your pants down. And if you do take your pants down, you can still do it with dignity.

Quotes by William Shatner

If I'm given an opportunity to do something, I do it. Or else I fool around with it.

Quotes by William Shatner

A fool and his words are soon parted.

Quotes by William Shenstone

Foolishness Quotes

To be a man's own fool is bad enough, but the vain man is everybody's.

Quotes by William Penn

Looking back on my life, I wish I'd stepped forward and made a fool of myself more often when I was younger - because when you do, you find out you can do it.

Quotes by William K. Sessions

It is not fit that every man should travel; it makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.

Quotes by William Hazlitt

He who will not reason, is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.

Quotes by William Drummond

He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; and he that dares not reason is a slave.

Quotes by William Drummond

Foolproof Quotes

The fool inherits, but the wise must get.

Quotes by William Cartwright

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the common thread in these "fool" quotes?
They mostly explore self-doubt and honest self-assessment - writers worrying they're fooling themselves, and blunt advice about not overestimating (or underestimating) other people's intelligence.
Is there a quote about self-doubt in writing?
Yes - one quote captures it well: "The hardest thing about being an unpublished writer is that there's always that voice in your head that asks if you're really being a fool," followed by the equally candid admission, "You might just really stink and not know it."
Is there advice here about not underestimating your audience?
Yes - "It is unsafe to take your reader for more of a fool than he is," a reminder that talking down to your audience can backfire.
What's the quote about persistence and knowing when to stop?
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it." It's a funny twist on the usual persistence cliche, adding a practical limit to it.
Is there a quote distinguishing a "knave" from a "fool"?
Yes - "Very often, say what you will, a knave is only a fool," suggesting that dishonest or cunning behavior is often just foolishness in disguise. For related pages, see our Foolish quotes or Fools quotes.

There's also dry humor here, including a twist on the try-try-again mantra that ends in knowing when to quit. See Foolishness or Fooled.