There's a saying that all roads lead to Ankh-Morpork. And it's wrong. All roads lead away from Ankh-Morpork, but sometimes people just walk along them the wrong way.

That's one form of magic, of course." "What, just knowing things?" "Knowing things that other people don't know.

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

Thinking. This book contains some. Whether you try it at home is up to you.

I found while driving in Wyoming that wearing a stetson and driving a beat-up pickup meant you could go as fast as you like, while the police picked up Californian winnebagos that went one mph over 55. After all, they wanted to bring money into the state, not merely circulate it.

The theater troubled her. It had a magic of its own, one that didn’t belong to her, one that wasn’t in her control. It changed the world, and said things were otherwise than they were. And it was worse than that. It was magic that didn’t belong to magical people. It was commanded by ordinary people, who didn’t know the rules. They altered the world because it sounded better.

The Kappamaki, a whaling research ship, was currently researching the question: How many whales can you catch in one week?