Quotes About Subtle

He had the ability to twist almost anything I said or did so that I seemed stupid.

The risks in antiques fraud are relative. Other criminals risk the absolute. You've never heard of a fraudster involved in a shoot-out, of the "Come and get me, copper!" sort. Or of some con artist needing helicopter gunships to bring him. No, we subtle-mongers do it with the smile, the promise, the hint. And we have one great ally: greed. And make no mistake. Greed is everywhere, like weather.

Every emotion (such as happiness or disgust) includes an affective reaction, but most of our affective reactions are too fleeting to be called emotions (for example, the subtle feelings you get just from reading the words happiness and disgust).

She was a genius of sadness, immersing herself in it, separating its numerous strands, appreciating its subtle nuances. She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum.

In my youth, I was always one for the dramatic entrance. Now, in keeping with my character, I gravitate more toward the subtle and refined. Okay, with the occasional feathered serpent thrown in.

In the old days, would-be conquerors often executed messengers who brought them bad news. It was not the messengers' fault that they had to disturb the emperor's image of himself as a world conqueror, but unfortunately they did, and they suffered the consequence of the anxiety they aroused. It is still worth a man's neck to disturb an emperor's image. Nowadays the ax falls more subtly and the execution may be postponed, but sooner or later it comes.

She must remain vigilant not only against overt threats—and a fifteen-foot-tall Tzimisce war ghoul was not entirely out of the realm of possibility here, she reminded herself ruefully—but especially against the more subtle dangers: impatience, indulgence, indiscretion. These three deadly sisters would kill as surely, if not as swiftly, as any fiend.

Know what I mean? Eh, eh, Nudge nudge, Say no more?

Captivating to men, Anne was also sharp, assertive, subtle, calculating, vindictive, a power dresser and a power player, perhaps a figure to be more admired than liked.

True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights.If you hear bells, get your ears checked.

For now, the tension was subtle, a vibration, like the inaudible cry of overstressed steel.

I surreptitiously checked to make sure she hadn't left the plates facing the wrong way again.

If the deception before D-Day was composed of subtle hints and nudges, the second phase was spoon-fed to the Germans with a spade.

People said that mathematicians were unworldly, and yammered on about how Einstein couldn't make correct change. Nonsense. Einstein just didn't give a damn. It was the subtle, the beautiful that concerned him.

I just want my music to be put out there, not shoved in people's faces. I want to keep it relaxed.

Manipulating the manipulatable?

They sped along the conduits reserved for the subtle messages of subatomic particles, space-time's hidden circuitry.

A diffident smile flickered on her lips.

If magic was present, it moved under the skin of the world, beneath the ability of human eyes to catch sight of it.

I don't like perfumes that are too strong or sweet. I like a fragrance that is earthy and sensual and can be worn at any time.

It can be difficult to be subtle and not cartoony in prosthetics. But when you see characters like Bubbles and Desiree from 'Little Britain' on screen, it makes all the hard work worth it. It's such fun watching those transformations.

'What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal' was thrilling in its light, deceptive tone, its subtle but irresistible momentum.

One of the most ephemeral and important things is atmosphere and tone and it's very hard to put your finger on what creates that.

I remember tearing up the first time I read Nabokov's description, in 'Speak, Memory,' of his father being tossed on a blanket by cheering muzhiks, with its astonishingly subtle foreshadowing of grief and mourning.