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COMPETITION --- COMPLAINING
COMPLIMENTS

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.
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COMPETITION

see: "CHALLENGE"
see: "DEFEAT"
see: "LOSING"
see: "STRUGGLE"
see: "VICTORY"
see: "WINNING"
see "CAPITALISM" for other related links
see "SPORTS" for other related links

-

Frank: Anything you can do, I can do better.
Annie: I can do any thing better than you.
F: No you can't.
A: Yes I can.
F: No you can't.
A: Yes I can.
F: No you can't.
A: Yes I can, yes I can. . . .

F: I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge.
A: I can get a sparrow with a bow and arrow.
F: I can do most anything.
A: Can you bake a pie?
F: No.
A: Neither can I.

--Irving Berlin (1888—1989)
American songwriter.
"Anything You Can Do" Song from the 1946 play
_Annie Get Your Gun_

-

He may well win the race that runs by himself.
--Benjamin Franklin (1706—1790)
American politician, inventor, and scientist.

There is nothing noble in being superior to some other
person. True nobility comes from being superior to your
previous self.
--Hindu Saying
In _A Conspectus of American Biography_, p. 726 [1906],
compiled by George Derby.

The world is divided into people who do things and
people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong
to the first class. There's far less competition.
--Dwight Morrow (1873—1931)
American lawyer, banker, and diplomat.
Letter to his son.

For when the Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks--not that you won or lost--
But how you played the game.
--Grantland Rice (1880—1954)
American sports writer.
_The Tumult and the Shouting_ [1954] "Alumnus Football"

Competition brings out the best in products
and the worst in people.
--David Sarnoff (1891—1971)
Russian-born American pioneer in the development
of both radio and television broadcasting.

The trouble with the rat race is that even
if you win, you're still a rat.
--Lily Tomlin (1936?— )
American actress and comedian.
"Thoughts on the Business of Life"
_Forbes_ [4 March 1991]

-

IN THE SWIM: Ruben Berg admits that he has slowed down since his
heart bypass surgery back in 1999. But the Minneapolis Star Tribune
reports that the 91-year-old Mr. Berg -- who uses a walker to get
from the locker room to the pool -- ranks as one of the nation's top
swim competitors in the 90-94 age class. Though cut from his high-
school team, Mr. Berg remained an avid swimmer and began competing
in 1991. Since then he has racked up 253 medals but says the awards
are not as impressive as they sound. He told the Star Tribune: "At
my age, well, most of the competition is dead."
--News Item, WSJ [3 September 2004]

Let others cheer the winning man,
There's one I hold worth while;
'Tis he who does the best he can,
Then loses with a smile.
Beaten he is, but not to stay
Down with the rank and file;
That man will win some other day,
Who loses with a smile.
--anon.




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COMPLAINING

.
.

see: "DISCONTENT"
see "COMMUNICATION" for other related links

^

Lord Anglesey, beating his wife, she said, 'how much happier
is that wench (pointing to a housemaid) than I am!' He
immediately kicked the maid down stairs, and then said,
'Well! there is at least one grievance removed.'
--_The Folio Book of Humorous Anecdotes_
Introduced by Edward Leeson [2005], "Love and Marriage"

^

Those who do not complain are never pitied.
--Jane Austen (1775—1817)
English writer.

It is a general error to suppose the loudest complainers
for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
--Edmund Burke (1729—1797)
Irish-born Whig politician and man of letters.

I never complained that my birthday was overlooked;
people were even surprised, with a touch of admiration,
by my discretion on this subject. But the reason for
my disinterestedness was even more discrete: I longed to
be forgotten in order to be able to complain to myself.
--Albert Camus (1913—1960)
French novelist, dramatist, and essayist who won
the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.
_The Fall_ [1956]

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and
complain — and most fools do.
--Dale Carnegie (1888—1955)
American writer and lecturer.
_How to Win Friends and Influence People_ [1936],
pt. 1 "Fundamental Techniques in Handling People"

'Repining is of no use, Ma'am,' said Ralph. 'Of all
fruitless errands, sending a tear to look after a day
that is gone, is the most fruitless.'
--Charles Dickens (1812—1870)
English novelist.
_Nicholas Nickleby [1839], Chapter 10

Never complain and never explain.
--Benjamin Disraeli (1804—1881)
British Tory statesman, novelist, and
Prime Minister [1868, 1874—1880].

My dad taught me about the counterproductive
nature of whining about conditions over which
you have no control. 'Ninety percent of people
don't want to hear about your problems,' he
said, 'and the other ten percent are glad it's
you.'
--Larry Elder (1952— )
Libertarian radio talk show host.
_The Ten Things You Can't Say In America_

Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat
with nothing whatever to grumble at?
--W. S. Gilbert (1836—1911)
English writer of comic and satirical verse.

Constant complaint is the poorest sort of
pay for all the comforts we enjoy.
--Benjamin Franklin (1706—1790)
American politician, inventor, and scientist.

The tendency to whining and complaining
may be taken as the surest sign of little
souls and inferior intellects.
--Lord Francis Jeffrey (1773—1850)
Literary critic and Scottish judge.

The gloomy and the resentful are always found
among those who have nothing to do or who
do nothing.
--Samuel Johnson (1709—1784)
English poet, critic, and lexicographer.

One fifth of the people are against
everything all the time.
--Robert F. Kennedy (1925—1968)
American Democratic politician.
In Robert Andrews
_The Routledge Dictionary of Quotations_, p. 213 [1987].

The world is sad enough without your woe.
--Orison Swett Marden (1848—1924)
Editor, Success Magazine.

The world is quickly bored by the recital
of misfortune, and willingly avoids the
sight of distress.
--W. Somerset Maugham (1874—1965)
English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer.
_The Moon and Sixpence_ [1919], ch. 16

Man is always looking for someone to boast to; woman
is always looking for someone to complain to.
--H.L. (Henry Louis) Mencken (1880—1956)
American journalist and literary critic.

Fretting makes us important. Say you're an adult male
and you're skipping down the street whistling 'Last
Train to Clarksville'. People will call you a fool.
But lean over to the person next to you on a subway
and say, 'How can you smile while innocents are dying
in Tibet?' You'll acquire a reputation for great
seriousness and also more room to sit down.
--P.J. O'Rourke (1947— )
American political satirist.
_All The Trouble in the World_

Things cannot always go your way. Learn to accept
in silence the minor aggravations, cultivate the
gift of taciturnity and consume your own smoke with
an extra draught of hard work, so that those about
you may not be annoyed with the dust and soot of
your complaints.
--Sir William Osler (1849—1919)
Canadian-born physician.
(As quoted in Harvy Cushing's
_The Life of Sir William Osler_ [1925], Volume 1, Chapter 22.)

He distains all things above his reach,
and preferreth all countries before his
own.
--Sir Thomas Overbury (1581?—1613)
English poet and essayist.
_An Affectate Traveller_ [1614]

One stops being a child when one realizes that
telling one's trouble does not make it better.
--Cesare Pavese (1908—1950)
Italian novelist, poet, and translator.
_This Business of Living: Diaries 1935-50_

I had no shoes and complained until I
beheld a man who had no feet.
--Sa'di [Muslih-uddin] (c. 1184—1291?)
Iranian poet.
_The Maxims of Sa'di_

We have no more right to put our discordant states
of mind into the lives of those around us and rob
them of their sunshine and brightness than we have
to enter their houses and steal their silverware.
--Julia Moss Seton ( —1975)

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_Hamlet_ [1601], Act II Sc. 3

Remember that in all miseries lamenting
becomes fools, and action, wise folk.
--Sir Philip Sidney (1554—1586)
English soldier, poet, and courtier.

Our forefathers did without sugar until the
13th century, without coal fires until the
14th, without buttered bread until the 16th,
without tea or soup until the 17th, without
gas, matches or electricity until the 20th.
Now what was it you were complaining
about?
--Rev. Richard Stephens

Men will lie on their backs, talking about the fall
of man, and never make an effort to get up.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817—1862)
American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher.
_Life Without Principle_ [1863]

Don't bother about genius. Don't worry
about being clever. Trust to hard work,
perseverance and determination. And
the best motto for a long march is:
"Don't grumble. Plug on!".
--Sir Frederick Treves (1853—1923)
English surgeon.

-----

grouse (adj.) ['graws]
(noun) A bird of the family Tetraonidae, such as
the red grouse or ruffed grouse.
(verb) To grumble a complaint.
(Adjective-colloquial in Australian and New Zealand)
Excellent, great, bonzer.

kvetch [KVECH], adjective:
1. To complain habitually.
2. A complaint.
3. A habitual complainer.

mardy (adj.) ['mahr-dee]
(Dialectal, slang) Spoilt, sulky, whinging (['win-jing]-that's
"whining" to North Americans). In the northern counties
and Midlands of Great Britain, and in Australia and New
Zealand, it is also used to refer to someone who's easily
scared or upset.

natter (verb) ['nah-tκ (UK), 'nζ-dκr (US)]
1. To nag, grumble, complain (mostly Scotland
and Northern England);
2. To chatter mindlessly.

querulous [KWER-uh-luhs]. adjective:
1. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining.
2. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.



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COMPLIMENTS

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.

see: "FLATTERY"
see "KINDNESS" for other related links


It's pleasant to hear these nice words while I'm still
alive. I'd rather have the taffy than the epitaphy.
--Chauncey Depew (1834—1928)
American orator, politician, and railroad president.

We can often better help another by
fanning a glimmer of goodness than
by censuring his faults.
--Edward Gibbon (1737—1794)
English historian.

He who sports compliments, unless he takes good aim,
may miss his mark, and be wounded by the recoil of
his own weapon.
--Thomas C. Haliburton (1796—1865)
Canadian politician, judge, and writer who was best known
as the creator of the literary character, Sam Slick.

For fear of what it might do to me, you never paid a
compliment, and when other people did, you beat it
away from me with a stick. 'He certainly is looking
nice and grown up.' He'd look a lot nicer if he did
something about his skin. 'That's wonderful that he
got that job.' Yeah, well, we'll see how long it lasts.
You trained me so well, I now perform this service
for myself. I deflect every kind word directed to
me, and my denials are much more extravagant than
the praise. 'Good speech.' Oh, it was way too long,
I didn't know what I was talking about, I was just
blathering on and on, I was glad when it was over.
I do this under the impression that it is humility,
a becoming quality in a person. Actually, I am
starved for a good word, but after the long drought
of my youth, no word is quite good enough. 'Good'
isn't enough. Under this thin veneer of modesty
lies a monster of greed. I drive away faint
praise, beating my little chest, waiting to be
named Sun-God, King of America, Idol of Millions,
Bringer of Fire, The Great Haji, Thun-Dar the
Boy Giant. I don't want to say, 'Thanks, glad
you liked it.' I want to say, 'Rise, my people.
Remove your faces from the carpet, stand,
look me in the face.'
--Garrison Keillor (1942— )
American writer and radio host.
_Lake Wobegon Days_ [1985]

Never praise a sister to a sister, in the hope of
your compliments reaching the proper ears.
--Rudyard Kipling (1865—1936)
English writer and poet.
_Plain Tales From The Hills_ [1888], "False Dawn"

^^

Amedeo Modigliani (1884—1920) Italian painter and sculptor:

Modigliani's admiration of Utrillo was reciprocated. On the
occasion of their first meeting, they began by paying each
other extravagant compliments. 'You are the world's
greatest painter,' said one.

'No, *you* are the world's greatest painter,'
said the other.

'I forbid you to contradict me.'

'I forbid you to forbid me.'

The argument became heated. 'If you say that again,
I'll hit you.'

'You are the greatest—' and they fell to blows.

Later, they made up over several bottles of wine at
a nearby bistro. As they went out into the street, one
said, 'You are the world's greatest painter.'

'No, you are.'

And so the fight broke out again, until both combatants
were down in the gutter, where they went to sleep. In
the early dawn they woke up to discover that they had
been robbed.

_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000]

^^

That's as well said as if I had said
it myself.
--Jonathan Swift (1667—1745)
Anglo-Irish poet and satirist.
_Polite Conversation_ [1738]

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word. As Collingwood never
saw a vacant place in his estate but he took an acorn out of his
pocket and popped it in, so deal with your compliments through
life. An acorn costs nothing; but it may sprout into a prodigious
bit of timber.
--William Makepeace Thackeray (1811—1863)
English novelist.

I've noticed that when a fellow dies, no matter what he's been
A saintly chap or one whose life's been deeply steeped in sin,
His friends forget the bitter words they spoke but yesterday.
And try to find a multitude of pretty things to say.
I fancy when I go to rest some-one will bring to light
Some kindly word or goodly act long buried out of sight;
But if it's all the same to you, just give to me, instead,
The bouquets while I'm living and the knocking when I'm dead.
--Louis Edwin Thayer (1878—1956)
"Of Post-Mortem Praises," st. 1 & 2

There is nothing you can say in answer to
a compliment. I have been complimented
myself a great many times, and they always
embarrass me — I always feel that they have
not said enough.
--Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835—1910)
American humorist, novelist, journalist, and river pilot.
_Speeches_ [1923], "Fulton Day, Jamestown"

-----

flummery [FLUM-uh-ree], noun:
1. A name given to various sweet dishes made with milk,
eggs, flour, etc.
2. Empty compliment; unsubstantial talk or writing; mumbo
jumbo; nonsense.

treacle (noun) ['tree-kκl]
(1) Syrup, especially from the first pressing of sugar cane
but also the molasses left over after the sugar crystals are
removed;
(2) Sugar-coating, cloying sentiment, sweetness of speech,
especially insincere compliments.


end page



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