In celebration of his 100th birthday, we’ve collected 31 Roald Dahl quotes and phrases that we feel are the best and most memorable.
Out of all of the most celebrated children’s authors, Roald Dahl has gifted the world with some of the most quotable works the world has ever known. Even people who have never read his books (gasp!) or even seen an adaptation of one of his works (double gasp!) know at least one or two Roald Dahl quotes by heart. They’re just that ingrained into our culture.
Thank you, Roald Dahl, for these wonderful words of wisdom and wonder. We hope they continue to shape the minds of children and adults alike for years to come.
Below are just a few of our favorite Roald Dahl quotes of all time. Hopefully they’re some of your favorites as well!
- “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
-The Twits - “Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog.”
-Matilda - “There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven’t started wondering about yet.”
-James and the Giant Peach - “The witching hour, somebody had once whispered to her, was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep deep sleep, and all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world all to themselves.”
-The BFG - “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - “I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”
-My Uncle Oswald - “If you are good, life is good.”
-Matilda - “Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream, but doesn’t everything. Those buildings. These lights. This whole city. Somebody had to dream about it first. And maybe that is what I did. I dreamed about coming here, but then I did it.”
-James and the Giant Peach - “So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books.”
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - “I understand what you’re saying, and your comments are valuable, but I’m gonna ignore your advice.”
-Fantastic Mr. Fox - “Don’t gobblefunk around with words.”
-The BFG - “A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.”
-Boy: Tales of Childhood - “A little magic can take you a long way.”
-James and the Giant Peach - “Most of the really exciting things we do in our lives scare us to death. They wouldn’t be exciting if they didn’t.”
-Danny, The Champion of the World - “Having power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it.”
- “‘We must hurry!’ said Mr. Wonka. ‘We have so much time and so little to do! No! Wait! Strike that! Reverse it!'”
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, so long as somebody loves you.”
-The Witches - “‘The matter with human beans,’ the BFG went on, ‘is that they is absolutely refusing to believe anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles.'”
-The BFG - “I’m right and you’re wrong, I’m big and you’re small, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
-Matilda - “You should never, never doubt something that no one is sure of.”
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - “There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven’t even started wondering about yet.”
-James and the Giant Peach - “Nothing is any fun if you can get as much of it as you want. Especially money.”
-The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More - “Grown ups are complicated creatures, full of quirks and secrets.”
-Danny, The Champion of the World - “Life is more fun if you play games.”
-My Uncle Oswald - “A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.”
-Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator - “Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.”
-Roald Dahl - “Two rights don’t equal a left.”
-The BFG - “Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world”
-Matilda - “If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”
- Mr. Wonka: “Don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted.”
Charlie Bucket: “What happened?”
Mr. Wonka: “He lived happily ever after.”
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
-The Minipins
Which of these Roald Dahl quotes is your all-time favorite?
