Quotes from The BFG

“Two rights don't equal a left.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“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.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“What I mean and what I say is two different things," the BFG announced rather grandly.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Words," he said, "is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Do you like vegetables?" Sophie asked, hoping to steer the conversation towards a slightly less dangerous kind of food.
"You is trying to change the subject," the Giant said sternly. "We is having an interesting babblement about the taste of the human bean. The human bean is not a vegetable.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“A whizzpopper!" cried the BFG, beaming at her. "Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time! Whizzpopping is a sign of happiness. It is music in our ears! You surely is not telling me that a little whizzpopping if forbidden among human beans?”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Giants isn't eating each other either, the BFG said. Nor is giants killing each other. Giants is not very lovely, but they is not killing each other. Nor is crockadowndillies killing other crockadowndillies. Nor is pussy-cats killing pussy-cats.

'They kill mice,' Sophie said.

'Ah, but they is not killing their own kind,' the BFG said. 'Human beans is the only animals that is killing their own kind.'

'Don't poisonous snakes kill each other?' Sophie asked. She was searching desperately for another creature that behaved as badly as the human.

'Even poisnowse snakes is never killing each other,' the BFG said. 'Nor is the most fearsome creatures like tigers and rhinostossterisses. None of them is ever killing their own kind. Has you ever thought about that?'

Sophie kept silent.

'I is not understanding human beans at all,' the BFG said.' You is a human bean and you is saying it is grizzling and horrigust for giants to be eating human beans. Right or left?'

'Right,' Sophie said.

'But human beans is squishing each other all the time,' the BFG said. 'They is shootling guns and going up in
aerioplanes to drop their bombs on each other's heads every week. Human beans is always killing other human beans.'

He was right. Of course he was right and Sophie knew it. She was beginning to wonder whether humans were actually any better than giants. 'Even so,' she said, defending her own race, I' think it's rotten that those foul giants should go off every night to eat humans. Humans have never done them any harm.'

'That is what the little piggy-wig is saying every day,' the BFG answered. 'He is saying, "I has never done any harm to the human bean so why should he be eating me?'"

'Oh dear,' Sophie said.

'The human beans is making rules to suit themselves,' the BFG went on. 'But the rules they is making do not suit the little piggy-wiggies. Am I right or left?'

'Right,' Sophie said.

'Giants is also making rules. Their rules is not suiting the human beans. Everybody is making his own rules to suit himself.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Meanings is not important, said the BFG. I cannot be right all the time. Quite often I is left instead of right.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“The matter with human beans," the BFG went on, "is that they is absolutely refusing to believe in anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“The maid screamed.
The Queen gasped.
Sophie waved.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“We is in Dream Country,' the BFG said. 'This is where all dreams is beginning.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“I is reading it hundreds of times,' the BFG said. 'And I is still reading it and teaching new words to myself and how to write them. It is the most scrumdiddlyumptious story.'

Sophie took the book out of his hand. 'Nicholas Nickleby,' she read aloud.

'By Dahl's Chickens,' the BFG said.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Two wrongs don't make a right.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“You is getting nosier than a parker.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Words', he said, 'is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Titchy little snapperwhippers like you should not be higgling around with an old sage and onions who is hundreds of years more than you.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Human beans is the only animals that is killing their own kind.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Dreams is full of mystery and magic . . . . Do not try to understand them.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“So the music is saying something to them. It is sending a message. I do not think the human beans is knowing what that message is, but they is loving it just the same.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Sometimes, on a very clear night,’ the BFG said, ‘and if I is swiggling my ears in the right direction’ – and here he swivelled his great ears upwards so they were facing the ceiling – ‘if I is swiggling them like this and the night is very clear, I is sometimes hearing faraway music coming from the stars in the sky.’ A queer little shiver passed through Sophie’s body. She sat very quiet, waiting for more.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“I is not understanding human beans at all,’ the BFG said. ‘You is a human bean and you is saying it is grizzling and horrigust for giants to be eating human beans. Right or left?’ ‘Right,’ Sophie said. ‘But human beans is squishing each other all the time,’ the BFG said. ‘They is shootling guns and going up in aerioplanes to drop their bombs on each other’s heads every week. Human beans is always killing other human beans.’ He was right. Of course he was right and Sophie knew it. She was beginning to wonder whether humans were actually any better than giants.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Me is the only one what won't be gobbled up because giants is never eating giants”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“. . . I am hearing all the secret whisperings of the world!”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Well, first of all," said the BFG, "human beans is not really believing in giants, is they? Human beans is not thinking we exist.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Yesterday," he said, "we was not believing in giants, was we? Today we is not believing in snozzcumbers. Just because we happen not to have actually seen something with our own two little winkles, we think it is not existing.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Sophie took the book out of his hand. ‘Nicholas Nickleby,’ she read aloud. ‘By Dahl’s Chickens,’ the BFG said. ‘By who?’ Sophie said.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“If you can think of anything more terrifying than that happening to you in the middle of the night, then let's hear about it.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

“Every dream in the world is making a different sort of buzzy-hum music.”
― Roald Dahl, quote from The BFG

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.