Sound Bites

Oxford dictionaries draw their strength from a constant monitoring of the language, and quotations from the daily torrent of words in the world around us, in print or on the air, are regularly added to our database. Our quarterly sound bites give a first view of sayings which have caught the public attention, and which might one day be added to one of our collections.

Sound bites April-June 2009

The spray can is a tool that can be used for good or ill...I always try to leave a wall looking better than I found it.
Banksy, British graffiti artist

They have everything they need, they have medical care, hot food...Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of camping.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italian media entrepreneur and statesman, on the thousands of people left homeless by the L'Aquila earthquake

It's all there in black and white—but it's the black you notice.
Heather Brooke, American-born journalist, on the extensive censorship of the official publication of MPs' expenses

We don't need any more kids—we have plenty of people on this planet.
Cameron Diaz, American actress

What did we do with the trust of your vote?
Hired a flunky to flush out the moat.
Carol Ann Duffy, English poet laureate, off-the-cuff verse on the MPs' expenses scandal

It is amazing where you can get with a bus pass these days.
Ranulph Fiennes, English explorer, conquering Everest at his third attempt at the age of 65

Rugby shows men how they like to see themselves—noble warriors, primitive god-monsters—whereas soccer shows men as women see them: competitive, full of greedy ego and with that mummy-watch-me-jump need to impress.
Nigella Lawson, English journalist and cookery writer

That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker.
Barack Obama, American President, swatting a fly with his hand during an interview in the White House

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