Technique alone is never enough. You have to have passion. Technique alone is just an embroidered potholder.

The keynote of American civilization is a sort of warm-hearted vulgarity. The Americans have none of the irony of the English, none of their cool poise, none of their manner. But they do have friendliness. Where an Englishman would give you his card, an American would very likely give you his shirt.

It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.

The kind of lawyer you hope the other fellow has.

If you believe in an idea, you don't own you, it owns you.

She was the music heard faintly on the edge of sound.

The average detective story is probably no worse than the average novel, but you never see the average novel. It doesn't get published. The average -- or only slightly above average -- detective story does.... Whereas the good novel is not at all the same kind of book as the bad novel. It is about entirely different things. But the good detective story and the bad detective story are about exactly the same things, and they are about them in very much the same way.