Quotes About Tact

And as she had no tact, hated family life (that dissolvent of the little nucleus), after telling me that she remembered, long ago, seeing my great-grandfather, and after speaking of him as of somebody who was almost an idiot, who would have been incapable of understanding the little group, and who, to use her expression, "was not one of us," she said to me: "Families are such a bore, the only thing is to get right away from them

Tact is the rare ability to keep silent while two friends are arguing, and you know both of them are wrong.

Arguments are to be avoided: they are always vulgar and often convincing.

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

Some things it is not decent to write of the dead, or prudent to write of the living.

If you use tact you can say anything, then make it funny.

Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead.

You can do more with a soft voice than a big stick?

He looked as if he were anxiously balancing a large handful of tact, without quite knowing where to put it down.

Forbear to mention what thou canst not praise.

Diplomacy is the art of knowing what not to say.

You might think that, I could not possibly comment

Look, Malia, I know your theory. But you can't go round putting people's backs up!' 'I certainly wouldn't wish to do that!' said Dr Malia. 'Well, it annoys people, you know.' 'I'm sorry about that. I try not to get in the way.' 'Well, maybe, but – It's just that you're always creeping around.

I will employ the gentle, vague expression "I'm not crazy about that on you," which should mean to you, "Holy shit, take that off, that looks terrible!" I owe it to you to give feedback like a cattle prod: painful but quick.

We are de facto diplomats who have to be able to communicate with anyone. But this doesn't mean we are doormats.

Diplomacy is beautiful, but it must also follow the famous maxim of nothing in excess.

Put your iron hand in a velvet glove.

Humans are social primates, and socialising with the rest of our species requires a fair amount of routine self-censorship and outright lying, which we dignify with names such as 'tact', 'courtesy' and 'politeness'.

War with smiles and firm handshakes.

Diplomacy: lying in state.

Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies they are ready enough to tell them.

Vulgarity is simply the conduct of other people.

Be polite write diplomatically even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.

Patience and propriety. It was the only graceful thing to do.