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Mothers, of course, are all right. They pay a chap's bills and don't bother him. But fathers bother a chap and never pay his bills.

— Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

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More quotes by Oscar Wilde

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)

The English country gentleman galloping after a fox — the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.

A Woman of No Importance (1893)

A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. [Answering the question, what is a cynic?]

Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)

I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing.

The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious. Both are disappointed.

A Woman of No Importance (1893)

All Oscar Wilde quotes →

Attribution

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