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It’s not often people will tell you how they really feel about gut-level things. Like god or how they’re afraid they’ll go insane like their grandfather or sex or how obnoxious you are when you pick your nose and wipe it on your pants. They play cozy with you, because nobody likes to be hated, and large doses of truth from any one mouth tend to make the wearer of the mouth persona non grata.

— Harlan Ellison Over the Edge (1970)

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More quotes by Harlan Ellison

It is my lot to wake with anger every morning, to lie down at night even angrier.

Shatterday (1980)

This is a test. Take notes. This will count as 3/4 of your final grade.

Deathbird Stories (1975)

Posing the question: does the god of love use underarm deodorant, vaginal spray and fluoride toothpaste?

Deathbird Stories (1975)

Don't start an argument with somebody who has a microphone when you don't. They'll make you look like chopped liver.

There’s only one real evil in the world: mediocrity.

All Harlan Ellison quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Harlan Ellison (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.