Curtly Quotes & Sayings

The birds screeched and continued to dive at us. One of them settled on a nearby branch and began berating us. I stopped in my tracks, however, when it actually called out, "Stupid creatures!" "Can they talk?" "Yes," Shardas said curtly, "making them even worse than Marta's monkey. If you talk to them, they will mimic the words. Unfortunately, most of what they hear are curse words, so please don't be shocked if they call you ruder things than 'stupid'. — Jessica Day George

You've got no right to hate the Major. He didn't force you."
"Force me? FORCE me? He's KILLING me, that's all!"
"It's still not-"
"Shut up," Baker said curtly, and Garraty shut. He rubbed the back of his neck briefly and stared up into the whitish-blue sky. His shadow was deformed huddle almost beneath his feet. He turned up his third canteen of the day and drained it.
Baker said, "I'm sorry. I surely didn't mean to shout. My feet-"
"Sure," Garraty said.
"We're all getting this way," Baker said. "I sometimes think that's the worst part. — Stephen King

Adolin nodded curtly. He was still angry, Dalinar could see, but he chose to follow Dalinar - and part of following a leader was supporting him even when the battle turned against him. — Brandon Sanderson

So you st that charge, and then put yourself right smack in the middle of the blast radius?" Brandt asked with what might have been open admiration. Remy nodded curtly. "Marry me," Brandt requested with unholy glee.
Remy cracked a smile and Carl laughed softly at Brandt's side. Shawn and Nikolaus both sat motionless, staring at Remy disbelievingly. Thiago rolled his eyes and cleared is throat. Nothing Remy did surprised him now. — Abigail Roux

I can't reveal the mystery to either saint or sinner; I can't state at length what I've said curtly; I achieve an altered state that I can't explain; I have a secret that I cannot share. — Omar Khayyam

What is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?" Hermione's hand shot into the air. Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, making sure he had no choice, before saying curtly, "Very well - Miss Granger?" "Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," said Hermione, "which gives you a split-second advantage." "An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six," said Snape dismissively (over in the corner, Malfoy sniggered), "but correct in essentials. Yes, — J.K. Rowling

Blomkvist picked up Salander by her front door on Lundagatan at 10:00 and drove her to the Norra crematorium. He stayed at her side during the ceremony. For a long time they were the only mourners along with the pastor, but when the funeral began Armansky slipped in. He nodded curtly to Blomkvist and stood behind Salander, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded without looking at him, as if she knew who was standing there. Then she ignored them both. Salander had told him nothing about — Stieg Larsson

I can only put it sufficiently curtly in a careless simile. A Socialist means a man who thinks a walking-stick like an umbrella because they both go into the umbrella-stand. Yet they are as different as a battle-ax and a bootjack. — G.K. Chesterton

I'll be fine ' Pen told me a little curtly. 'Where are you going anyway '
'The United States. Alabama.'
'Looking for a change of scene '
'Looking for a dead woman.'
'Get Jenna-Jane Mulbridge to come down here and I'll make you one. — Mike Carey

The city?" Tyrion was lost. "What city would that be?"
"King's Landing. I am sending you to court."
It was the last thing Tyrion Lannister would ever have anticipated. He reached for his wine, considered for a moment as he sipped. "And what am I to do there?"
"Rule," his father said curtly. — George R R Martin

Maids in India have egos. Big egos. They do not like being spoken to curtly, and they do not like to be abruptly instructed by a woman they do not know. They come with the feeling that they already know everything. So while training them to do things your way, speak gently, and when they do it right, appreciate it. — Karisma Kapoor

Boy, it sure was some strange Christmas, she told herself as she opened the living room door. And then she stopped dead. Because her present wasn't under the huge lighted Christmas tree. It was sitting on the sofa, looking toward her furiously, with a glass of whiskey in one lean hand. "Merry Christmas," Winthrop said curtly.
Her mouth flew open. He had a bow stuck on the pocket of his gray vested suit, and he looked hung over and pale and a little disheveled. But he was so handsome that her heart skipped wildly, and she looked into his dark eyes with soft dreams in her own.
"You've got a bow on your pocket," she said in a voice that sounded too high-pitched to be her own.
"Of course I've got a bow on my pocket. I'm your damned Christmas present. Didn't you listen to your father? — Diana Palmer

Also," Nick added curtly, "I'm sorry about your face."
Jamie looked over his shoulder, and touched the demon's mark crawling along his jaw with the back of his hand. "Sorry about saving all our lives by doing something you had to do?"
"Oh no," Nick said blandly, "I just meant, you know. Generally."
Jamie stared at him, shocked, and laughed. It was a real laugh, helpless and sweet, and Mae memorized it in case he died. Jamie by the river at dawn, laughing. — Sarah Rees Brennan

She exhaled curtly. 'I'm a serryn. That's all you see. I'm just something to be tortured, slain or sold off as a commodity. That's hardly the most appealing of traits.'
'Tell your eyes that. Because you really shouldn't look at me the way you do. No serryn has looked at me like that. — Lindsay J. Pryor

I begged her, 'Please don't leave me stranded in the middle of some primitive zarking forest with no medical help and a head injury. I could be in serious trouble and so could she.'"
"What did she say?"
"She hit me on the head with the rock again," Ford responded curtly.
"I think i can confirm that was my daughter."
"Sweet kid."
"You have to get to know her," said Arthur.
"She eases up, does she?"
"No, but you get a better sense of when to duck. — Douglas Adams

It was dark." "I'd know you in the dark, Tucker." Tucker's eyes flashed up to meet Elliot's. He said curtly. "Yeah. I'd know you too. — Josh Lanyon

Alex cornered her right before she was going to make an appointment at the nurse's station to see him. "Bree, I'm going to be referring you to Carlo from now on," Alex informed her. "I think in light of recent events it would be a conflict of interest for me to continue to be your doctor." "Is that right?" Bree asked leaning her elbow on the counter and raising an eyebrow. "Yes, I wouldn't feel comfortable about it considering what you did to Carrie." "Aw, that's nice," Bree smiled sarcastically, staring up at his smug self-righteous face. "Nice to know this place has such moral upstanding doctors." "Yes, so I will be referring you to him from now on," Alex said, clenching his jaw. "Great," Bree said, fighting not to roll her eyes. "Have a good afternoon," he said curtly and turned to walk away. Don't do it. Don't do it, Bree. The evil Bree won though. "You too, Dr. Home Wrecker." Alex's step faltered but he didn't turn around. — E. Jamie

Don't be tedious, Lavay. If it's so necessary for you to know," he said ungraciously. "She won a contest."
There was a short stunned silence.
"You ... played a game?" Lavay said this slow, flat incredulity, hilarity suppressed, clearly trying to picture it. "And you lost to a ... girl. What manner of contest was this? Ribbon-tying?"
Flint felt ridiculous now, in retrospect, which was doing nothing to settle his temper. "I challenged her to aim a dart ... let's just say it landed rather serendipitously in the right spot,"
he finished curtly. "She was lucky."
"You speak metaphorically, Captain? She aimed a dart as in the vein of Cupid? — Julie Anne Long

Sebastian then turned to the redhead. I didn't want to know her name. I already had a perfectly fitting nickname for her in my head. "This is Selena Alvaro." "Please call me Lena," the girl smiled, extending a manicured hand. I shook it politely. Whatever Sebastian's issue was, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of showing that I cared. "Do you know Bast well?" she asked me.
Ugh. That nickname again. "I guess not," I replied curtly, shooting him a pointed look. "He's just one of the vampires in town. — Ada Adams

Get him in leg irons and transport him to the hospital," Grier told him curtly.
"I need a doctor," Clark raged. "I'm shot. My hand's
bleeding!"
Grier stared at him. "If you make a move I don't like,
you'll need a mortician," he said with pure malice, and
abruptly spun the Colt with a professional skill that made
Clark back up a step. — Diana Palmer

You cannot cook and you cannot sew. Tell me, Jessica, are you good for aught besides making my life hell?" Well, that certainly put her in her place. She rose. "You know what they say about guests and fish after three days," she said, starting toward the door. "I'll be going now." Where, she didn't know, but she could work that out later. "I did not give you permission to depart," he said curtly. "You may still sleep in my bed. I will sleep there as well - " "Wait a minute," she interrupted. "I never agreed to - " "You will remain unmolested," he said curtly. "There is only one bed and we have shared it the past two days." "Yeah, and you were feverish." "We will put a bolster of some sort between us," he said, through gritted teeth. "I will not touch you, since you seem to find the thought so repugnant." She had no answer for that. It was much too complicated for a quick fix. "You will retire now," he said, pointing again toward the bed. "In silence. — Lynn Kurland

You're not what I expected in a pirate."
He laughed, curtly. "You're not what I expected in a princess. — Brynn Kelly

Please?" "Ridiculous," he said curtly, — Rex Stout

You are the devil to talk to, Rachel," he said curtly. "Will you shut up and listen? — Kim Harrison

The two men looked at each other for a moment. Then Sonja's father nodded. And Ove nodded curtly back. And then they rose to their feet, objective and determined, in the way two men might behave if they had just agreed to go and kill a third man. — Henning Koch

In summary, she did jump off a cliff, but she wasn't trying to kill herself. Bella's all about the extreme sports these days."
I flushed and turned my eyes straight ahead, looking after the dark shadow that I could no longer see. I could imagine what he was hearing in Alice's thoughts now. Near-drowings, stalking vampires, werewolf friends ...
"Hm," Edward said curtly, and the casual tone of his voice was gone. — Stephenie Meyer

Hey what?' Tyson said. 'Why? What do you need a gurney for?'
'Standard procedure,' the EMT said.
'What do you mean, standard procedure?' Tyson said. 'She's fine. She's hardly bleeding, see?'
Hardly bleeding? Her bandage was soaked through.
'Suicide watch,' the EMT said curtly. 'Someone who tries to kill herself isn't "fine."'
She strapped Starrla to the gurney. Starrla's skirt rode too high, and Wren, ridiculously, wanted to fix it for her. She didn't know how to fix things, though. She didn't know how to fix anything. — Lauren Myracle

May I offer you a cough drop, Dolores?" Professor McGonagall asked curtly, without looking at Professor Umbridge. — J.K. Rowling

All of you, leave," Vlad responded curtly.
"That's not nice," I mumbled. "You should talk to them before you bite them, too. Common curtesy. — Jeaniene Frost

Simple obviously being in her mind a key word in dealing with overwhelmed and cranky grooms. "Really really simple and neutral." It seemed to be registry protocol that the groom should be allowed to select the casual china (I guess for all those Super Bowl parties I would be hosting with the guys, ha ha) while the "formal ware" should be left to the experts: the ladies. "It's fine," I said, more curtly than I'd meant to, when I realized they were waiting for me to say something. Plain, white, modern earthenware wasn't something I could work up a lot of enthusiasm for, particularly when it went for four hundred dollars a plate. It made me think of the nice old Marimekko-clad ladies I sometimes went to see in the Ritz Tower: gravel-voiced, turban-wearing, panther-braceleted widows looking to move to Miami, — Donna Tartt

Captain Phasma. Remember me?" He moved his weapon slightly. "Here's my blaster, ya still wanna inspect it?" Phasma held on to her dignity. "Yes, I remember you. FN-2187." Finn shook his head curtly. "Not anymore. My name is Finn. A real name for a real person. And I'm in charge now. — Alan Dean Foster

Who said anything about relationship? Besides, we're not required to share everything; it's not like we're married."
"You want to marry me?" Xavier asked, and I saw some faces turn toward us in curiosity. "I was thinking we'd start slow and see where things went, but hey, what the hell!"
I rolled my eyes. "Be quiet or I'll be forced to flick you."
"Ooh," he mocked. "The ultimate threat. I don't think I've ever been flicked before."
"Are you suggesting I can't hurt you?"
"On the contrary, I think you have the power to do great damage."
I looked at him quizzically and then blushed deeply when his meaning dawned.
"Very funny," I said curtly. — Alexandra Adornetto

He squatted down before her, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her face upward. "You need to eat. You're pale." "I'm perfectly fine," she said curtly. He was surprised by her tone, unpleasantly so. The woman was not as meek as she should have been, given the circumstances. He had saved her, hadn't he? To his mind, that demanded a bit of gratitude. "You don't look sound," he retorted. "I've had a few shocks today. I won't hold you up, if that's what you're worried about. — Lynn Kurland

You're a worse punishment than even he deserves, lady," she bit off as she turned away from the phone. "I wouldn't wish you on my worst enemy!"
The phone rang again and she picked it up, ready to give Audrey a fierce piece of her mind. But it was a journalist wanting to know if the story in the tabloids was true, about Tate and Cecily being lovers when she was still in school.
"It most certainly is not," she said curtly. "But I'll tell you what is. Tate Winthrop is marrying Washington socialite Miss Audrey Gannon at Christmas. You can print that, with my blessing!" And she hung up again. — Diana Palmer

Bea had to admit that the landscape was rather pretty, with all those sparkling drops hanging off branches (waiting to destroy one's clothing, but one mustn't be squeamish about it). And the birds were singing, and so forth. She even saw a yellow flower that was rather nice, although mud-splattered.
"Look!" she said, trying to be friendly. 'A daffodil!'
'Yellow celandine,' her companion said curtly.
After that, Bea gave up the effort of conversation and just tramped along. — Eloisa James

What are your names?"
"You know our names," Violet said curtly, a word which here means "tired of Count Olaf's nonsense." "That wig and that lipstick don't fool us any more than your pale-brown dress and sensible beige shoes. You're Count Olaf. — Lemony Snicket

Matthews asked:
"How intimate was your relationship with Dr. Miller?"
"Intimate?" Phil still couldn't grasp what they were asking.
"My colleague is asking if you'd ever had sex with Dr. Miller before that evening." Jones added curtly.
"I've never ... We've never ... We're friends. We'd never had sex before that evening, and we didn't have sex that evening either."
"How do you explain your semen in her sheets then, Mr. Marshall? — Olga Nunez Miret

The Chancellor looked down at the paper in front of him. He cleared his throat. 'Re'lar Ambrose, are you a donkey?'
Ambrose went stiff. 'No, sir,' he said.
'Are you possessed of,' he cleared his throat and read directly off the page. 'A pizzle bound to fizzle?' A few of the masters struggled to control smiles. Elodin grinned openly.
Ambrose flushed. 'No sir.'
'Then I'm afraid I don't see the problem,' the Chancellor said curtly, letting the paper settle to the table. — Patrick Rothfuss

Put him in there and chain him up," he ordered curtly. "Yes, that chain, you fool - do you see any other chain in that cell? Peaceable Sherwood? I'm tired of hearing about Peaceable Sherwood! Turn him loose in the cell for the night. - Which one of you said 'Where'll he be by morning?' Where does he look like he's going to be by morning, I ask you - a hundred and fifty miles away?"
I was, to be exact, only seven and a half miles away by morning ... — Elizabeth Marie Pope

A man inferior with the blade or with his thoughts can still so elevate himself," Entreri explained curtly, "if he can impart the belief that some god or other speaks through him. It is the greatest deception in all the world and one embraced by kings and lords, while the minor lying thieves on the streets or Calimport and other cities lose their tongues for so attempting to coax the purses of others. — R.A. Salvatore

The duke's son and the pauper girl. I suppose as a couple we were the most interesting thing in view.
I took the champagne glass from Armand and finished what he hadn't. As Sophia had said, it wasn't swill.
So much for my manners.
"Why am I here?" I asked curtly, handing back the empty flute.
"Because I invited you."
I dropped my voice. "Did you find out anything about Rue?"
"Is that why you came?"
"No, I came because I simply can't get enough of people looking down their noses at me. The girls at school are getting frightfully lax about it."
"Are they? How remiss of them. We're taught from the cradle how to look down our noses, you know, we rich sons of bitches. Perhaps Westcliffe's curriculum is a tad too liberal these days."
"Why, yes, my lord," I said very audibly. "I would enjoy seeing the rest of the boat."
"The yacht."
"That, yes. — Shana Abe

He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand,' said Dumbledore curtly. 'Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why. — J.K. Rowling

Napier surfaced next to her and propped his arms on the ledge. "I meant to ask - can you swim?"
"No," she said through chattering teeth, "Actually I can't."
He cocked his head to the side and looked perplexed. "Your lips are blue."
"I'm cold," she said curtly.
"Want me to warm you up?" he asked, grinning.
"I'd rather be cold," she snapped, hating him more by the second. — Emory Sharplin

Done and done," P.J. said curtly. "Both front towers are clear. Giddy up, cowboys. Let's rope the goat and get back home. — Maya Banks

What's the detector?" Thomas asked. "It detects stuff," Brenda replied curtly. Thomas wrinkled his face at her. — James Dashner

Not really hungry."
"She'll eat." Pritkin said curtly.
"I said - "
"If you starve to death it would damage my professional reputation."
"I eat plenty."
"The same does not apply should I strangle you in understandable irritation, however."
"I'll have a sandwich," I told Nick. "No meat. — Karen Chance

Fine," Jeb said curtly, stowing his gun. "But don't test me. I haven't shot anyone in a real long time, and I sort of miss the trill of it. — Stephenie Meyer

The hip-hop guy nodded curtly, like he knew that, and despite appearances to the contrary, he had not been trippin', but had, in fact, been chillin' like a mo-fuckin' villain, so step the fuck off, wigga. He crossed against the light, limping slightly under the weight of the subtext. — Christopher Moore