Terry Pratchett Quotes

English fantasy author (1948–2015)

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Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humorist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works, most famous for his Discworld series.

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Alternative Names: Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett • Terence David John Pratchett • Sir Terry Pratchett • Sir Terence David John Pratchett

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Sometimes I really think people ought to have to pass a proper exam before they're allowed to be parents. Not just the practical, I mean.

I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.

Goodness is about what you do. Not who you pray to.

The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.

The thing is, I mean, there’s times when you look at the universe and you think, “What about me?” and you can just hear the universe replying, “Well, what about you?”

Knowing things is magical, if other people don't know them.

The reason that clichés become clichés is that they are the hammers and screwdrivers in the toolbox of communication.

"No it's not!" said Constable Visit. "Atheism is a denial of a god."

"Therefore It Is A Religious Position," said Dorfl. "Indeed, A True Atheist Thinks Of The Gods Constantly, Albeit In Terms of Denial. Therefore, Atheism Is A Form Of Belief. If The Atheist Truly Did Not Believe, He Or She Would Not Bother To Deny."

'Whose side are they on?' said Brocando.
'Sides? Their own, I suppose, just like everyone else.'

Too many people want to have written.

As a boy I had a clear image of the Almighty: He had a tail coat and pinstriped trousers, black, slicked-down hair and an aquiline nose. On the whole, I was probably a rather strange child, and I wonder what my life might have been like if I'd met a decent theologian when I was nine.

Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.

The trouble is you can shut your eyes but you can’t shut your mind.

"People flock in, nevertheless, in search of answers to those questions only librarians are considered to be able to answer, such as "Is this the laundry?" "How do you spell surreptitious?" and, on a regular basis, "Do you have a book I remember reading once? It had a red cover and it turned out they were twins.

On the fifth day the Governor of the town called all the tribal chieftains to an audience in the market square, to hear their grievances. He didn't always do anything about them, but at least they got heard, and he nodded a lot, and everyone felt better about it at least until they got home. This is politics.