You don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay her to leave afterwards.

- Dashiell Hammett

The people who lie the most are nearly always the clumsiest at it, and they're easier to fool with lies than most people, too. You'd think they'd be …

- Dashiell Hammett

My way of learning is to heave a wild and unpredictable monkey-wrench into the machinery.

- Dashiell Hammett

The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.

- Dashiell Hammett

I once knew a man who stole a Ferris Wheel.

- Dashiell Hammett

The outcome of successful planning always looks like luck to saps.

- Dashiell Hammett

You got to look on the bright side, even if there ain't one.

- Dashiell Hammett

Who shot him? I asked. The grey man scratched the back of his neck and said: Somebody with a gun.

- Dashiell Hammett

Most things in San Francisco can be bought or taken.

- Dashiell Hammett