A lot of fancier yarns come from people trying to tell the truth. It’s not easy once you’re out of the habit.

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 on the look-out for lies, but they seem to be the very ones that will believe almost anything at all.

Joel Cairo: You always have a very smooth explanation ready. Sam Spade: What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?

Our lawyers had their chat with the Supreme Court Justice, and promised to repast the chat to other members of the Supreme Court to find out whether they wanted to hear us out.

I've been as bad an influence on American literature as anyone I can think of.

A lot of fancier yarns come from people trying to tell the truth. It’s not easy once you’re out of the habit.

It's sometimes better to pretend I don't hear the sound of somebody in the nearby woods with a shotgun.