It was a puzzle why things were always dragged kicking and screaming. No one ever seemed to want to, for example, lead them gently by the hand.
A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.
"Some people are heroes. And some people jot down notes."
'My motives, as ever, are entirely transparent.' [said Vetinari]
Hughnon reflected that 'entirely transparent' meant either that you could see right through them or that you couldn't see them at all.
'Look out of the window. Tell me what you see.'
'Fog,' said the Chief Priest.
Vetinari sighed. Sometimes the weather had no sense of narrative convenience.
He knew about concerned citizens. Wherever they were, they all spoke the same private language, where 'traditional values' meant 'hang someone'.
William wondered why he always disliked people who said "no offence meant". Maybe it was because they found it easier to say "no offence meant" than actually refrain from giving offence.
When people say "clearly" something, that means there's a huge crack in their argument and they know things aren't clear at all.
"The right to free speech is a fine old Ankh-Morpork tradition."
"Good heavens, is it?"
"Yes, my lord."
"How did that one survive?"
