George Mikes
George Mikes
George Mikeswas a Hungarian-born British author best known for his humorous commentaries on various countries...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth15 February 1912
cat egypt england
On the Continent stray cats are judged individually on their merit-some are loved, some are only respected; in England they are universally worshipped as in ancient Egypt.
dog cat
A dog will flatter you but you have to flatter the cat.
dog cat animal
You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.
bottles english people
Continental people have sex-lives; the English have hot-water bottles
religious humorous israel
Long before the word Zionism was uttered for the first time, old religious Jews came from all over the world to die in Jerusalem. It is the finest place to die in - it has always been acknowledged. It has a joie de mourir quite its own.
war humorous pride
The British are proud of their ability to create a muddle and then muddle through all difficulties. I must shake the British pride: muddle is not an exclusively British institution. Read descriptions, for instance, of the over-organized, wonderfully systematic and "thorough" German war machine during the last war.
believe australia people
Although the rudiments of snobbery are there, its finer developments are basically alien to the Australian soul - that is, if Australians have a soul; many people believe that they are too matter-of-fact and down-to-earth to have such fancy commodities.
swimming garden australia
Rich people (in Australia) have swimming pools in their gardens but, at least, they do swim in them.
beer self australia
What beefsteak is to Argentina, flamenco to Spain, cool reserve and self-control in all situations to an Englishman, what vodka is to a Russian and beer to a Bavarian, what money is to a Swiss, that is outdoor-life to an Australian. It is a noble mania, better than vodka, better than cool reserve, better than money.
passion boys mad
In England the boy pats his adored one on the back and says softly, "I don't object, you know." If he is quite mad with passion, he may add: "I rather fancy you, in fact.
dream lying people
People on the Continent either tell you the truth or lie; in England they hardly ever lie, but they would not dream of telling you the truth.
preparation buying firsts
Once you start buying first aid kits you start having accidents.
soul foreigners havens
Foreigners have souls; the English haven't.
weather two lovely
On the Continent there is one topic which should be avoided-the weather; in England, if you do not repeat the phrase "Lovely day, isn't it?" at least two hundred times a day, you are considered a bit dull.