Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Ignorant people think it is the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it is the sickening grammar that they use.
Interpretation
The true annoyance of fighting cats lies not in their noise, but in their poor grammar.
In this quote, Mark Twain humorously critiques the way people perceive chaos and fighting in basic terms, suggesting that the real irritation comes from the language used rather than the situation itself. This reflects Twain's wit in merging observations of human behavior with linguistic commentary, elevating common experiences into insightful humor.
In practice
This quote can be used during a debate about language and its social implications.
Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Personally, I never drink on Oscar nights, as it interferes with my suffering.
The exquisite code of politeness of the Woosters prevented me clipping her one on the ear-hole, but I would have given a shilling to be able to do it. There seemed to me something deliberately fat-headed in the way she persisted in missing the gist.
Players, Sir! I look on them as no better than creatures set upon tables and joint stools to make faces and produce laughter, like dancing dogs.
I remember when the candle shop burned down. Everyone stood around singing 'Happy Birthday.'
Well, if I am not drunk, I am mad," replied Syme with perfect calm; "but I trust I can behave like a gentleman in either condition.
My school was 90 percent white, but 90 percent of the kids I played with were black. So I got the best of both worlds. I think that is where my comedy developed.
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