Quotes & Sayings About Understatement

Baikida Carroll, whose balance of bravada and tenderness, facility and understatement mark him as a player to be reckoned with. — Jon Pareles

To say that O began to await her lover the minute he left her is a vast understatement: she was henceforth nothing but vigil and night. — Pauline Reage

I'm a coyote shapeshifter playing in a world of werewolves and vampires
outmatched is an understatement. — Patricia Briggs

I knew Frank Herbert for more than thirty-eight years. He was a magnificent human being, a man of great honor and distinction, and the most interesting person at any gathering, drawing listeners around him like a magnet. To say he was an intellectual giant would be an understatement, since he seemed to contain all of the knowledge of the universe in his marvelous mind. He was my father, and I loved him deeply. — Frank Herbert

Often, then, the stories came pouring out, and often they were set before us slowly and quietly like tea. These slow stories were told with understatement that made my eyes and voice fill as I translated; for when people seem to have no emotion remaining for such stories, your own heart must supply it. — Daoud Hari

The English have no soul; they have the understatement instead. — George Mikes

To say he had doubts about this excursion, which Wyoming State University hadn't even authorized, would easily qualify for the understatement of the year. But as he pondered his reason for doing this, Ellington bit his lip, swallowed a bolus of raw fear in his throat and continued to descend, allowing the nylon rope to slip through the carabiner underneath his posterior. — Byron Tucker

We look our best in subdued colors, sophisticated cuts, and a general air of sleek understatement. — Jil Sander

I know you don't like the traffic here. I'm sorry that you're burdened with this."
I muttered, "Not liking the traffic is an understatement. People don't know how to drive here. They're crazy."
"We can take back roads with the least traffic on the way, and we'll be driving only to the outskirts of Mumbai, not through the city as before. It shouldn't be too bad. You're a good driver."
"Ha, easy for you to say. You'll just sleep in the back the whole way."
Ren touched my cheek with his fingers and gently turned my face to his. "Rajkumari, I want to say thank you. Thank you for staying and helping me. You don't know what this means to me."
I mumbled, "You're welcome. And rajkumari means?"
He flashed me a brilliant white smile and deftly changed the subject. — Colleen Houck

Who said that clothes make a statement? What an understatement that was. Clothes never shut up. — Susan Brownmiller

Understatement is overrated — Leigh Bardugo

My chest ached at the sight. To say I missed her was a cruel understatement, like saying you'd miss your soul after you gave it away. After it was torn from you. I was empty. Flesh without blood. I was not whole without her. Never would be. I wasn't a big enough fool to believe that could ever change. — R.K. Lilley

like a stormy sea at best. 81. Making Cents of It All With over 1,500 projects under my belt as a freelancer and business owner, saying that I've experimented with pricing structures may be the understatement of the year. In my early years, nearly everything was based on a fixed bid. As my client list grew, I began landing some hourly gigs, retainers, and some dedicated resource structures. Each of these pricing structures has pros and cons, for you as a designer as well as for your client. Understanding these pricing structures, explaining them clearly to your clients, and choosing the right one for the job can make the difference between a blissful client experience and your worst nightmare. Fixed Bid Fixed-bid pricing is a set scope of work with a fixed price. You tell — Michael Janda

Gillard is as likeable as Rudd is charmless. She is self-deprecating; he is ludicrously vainglorious. She is a mistress of understatement; he is a ranter. — Germaine Greer

He does seem to have a lot of willpower." "That is an understatement," I agreed. "Tall, blond, and stubborn. — Chloe Neill

Aye, aye, it must be so. I've oversailed him. How, got the start? Aye, he's chasing ME now; not I, HIM
that's bad — Herman Melville

Jealousy is a terrible thing. "It doth mock the meat it feeds upon" is an understatement. Jealousy is completely consuming, totally irrational, and absolutely debilitating. The most wonderful people in the world are nothing but raging animals when trapped in the throes of jealousy. — Arthur C. Clarke

She reached up and curled her fingers into mine. "He should take you to dinner."
To say that the mere thought horrified me would have been a grievous understatement. I threw up a little in my mouth then swallowed hard.
I told Taft when I recovered, "Just please, for the love of God, find a girl good enough to take home to your mother. And do it soon."
"And stop dating skanks. — Darynda Jones

I bet you're confused," Corey said. Dr. Understatement. Maya was stunned. Like a boxer on his heels, she needed time to recover, to take the standing eight count, get her head back into the fight. Explanations for how this could be rose into view, but in every case, she was able to shoot them down with too much ease. Nothing — Harlan Coben

Wow," I said, brilliant as always.
He chuckled. "Understatement of the millennium."(Sabina/Adam) — Jaye Wells

Art begins when an observer's sensibilities engage with the understatements of a calculating craftsman. — Sara Genn

The gift of comedy is often best delivered on the wings of understatement. — Tony Bulmer

It is an understatement to say that in this society injustices abound: In truth it is itself the quintessence of injustice. — Emil Cioran

I opened a writing app and began typing what I knew about Pierce.
Vain. Terminal fear of T-shirts or any other garment that would cover his pectorals.
Deadly. Doesn't hesitate to kill. Holding him at gunpoint would result in me being barbecued. Whee.
Likes burning things. Now here's an understatement. Good information to have, but not useful for finding him.
Antigovernment. Neither here nor there.
Hmm. So far my best plan would be to build a mountain of gasoline cans and explosives, stick a Property of US Government sign on it, and throw a T-shirt over Pierce's head when he showed up to explode it. Yes, this would totally work. — Ilona Andrews

Picker studied Quick Ben as they trudged up yet another grass-backed hillside. 'You want us to get someone to carry you, Mage?'
Quick Ben wiped the sweat from his brow, shook his head. 'No, it's getting better. The Barghast spirits are thick here, and getting thicker. They're resisting the infection. I'll be all right, Corporal.'
'If you say so, only you're looking pretty rough to me.' And ain't that an understatement.
'Hood's warren is never a fun place.'
'That's bad news, Mage. What have we all got to look forward to, then?'
Quick Ben said nothing.
Picker scowled. 'That bad, huh? Well, that's just great. Wait till Antsy hears.'
The wizard managed a smile. 'You tell him news only to see him squirm, don't you?'
'Sure. The squad needs its entertainment, right? — Steven Erikson

You look amazing."
"Thank you. You look pretty good." Understatement.
"Oh this old thing? Shucks," he said.
"Dork."
"Goddess. — Chelsea M. Cameron

You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known - and even that is an understatement. — F Scott Fitzgerald

Cristal go by the cases, wait hold up that was racist
I would prefer the Aces, ain't no different when you taste it.
A 40 ounce to chase it, that's just an understatement. — ASAP Rocky

Only in summer-phase is it carnivorous.
If there was an award for understatement, I thought, the Tyr would trounce all competition. — C.S. Friedman

It's intriguing to observe so many of the outrageous prophecies, made with such biting satire years ago in the first edition, come into being through the craft of so many self-entitled egomaniacs running a global 'corpornation' for personal interest and professional profit. I had no idea then, as I now know, that I was writing with so much understatement. Honest outrage and political satire are two of the most important weapons that we have to protect infringement against our personal freedoms through oligarchy and to maintain any semblance of humanity in our democracy as our government aggressively privatizes and over-reaches at the expense of those millions whom it has sworn so dishonestly to serve and has utterly abandoned. — David B. Lentz

Holy fucking understatement of the year, Batman — Marie Sexton

Calling MacKenzie a mean girl is an understatement. She's a cobra with hoop earrings, blond hair extensions, and a spray-on tan. — Rachel Renee Russell

I was, in the 1960s, in a marriage. To use the word 'bad' would be perhaps the understatement of the year. It was dreadful. — Sherwin B. Nuland

To say my friends were living a soap opera was an understatement. They almost made my dangerous relationship with Adrian look boring. — Richelle Mead

Emptiness and boredom: what an understatement. What I felt was complete desolation. Desolation, despair, and depression.
Isn't there some other way to look at this? After all, angst of these dimensions is a luxury item. You need to be well fed, clothes, and housed to have time for this much self-pity. — Susanna Kaysen

Unbutton, unzip, unclip, untie, undo, undress."
"Understood," she replied. — Michael Faudet

Kitten, this is my best mate, Charles, but you can call him Spade. Charles, this is Cat, the woman I've been telling you about. You can see for yourself that everything I've said is ... an understatement. — Jeaniene Frost

It would be gross understatement to say that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is not a model of clarity. It is in many important respects a model of ambiguity or indeed even self-contradiction. — Antonin Scalia

To say I live a cursed life is an understatement. I have to get up every day and work with people who are not as successful as me nor will they ever be as successful as me. Nobody knows the struggles I go through. — Zach Braff

You said I was pretty, before."
"Did I?" A new laugh escaped him, mirthless. "How unoriginal. I must be the master of understatement. I think you're goddamned radiant, and you know it. Sometimes I think if I look at you too long I'll go blind, like a lunatic staring straight into the sun. No," he said in a savage undertone, and let the gown fall back to the floor. "You're not pretty. — Shana Abe

In 1975, I left the burning city of Beirut for the quiet insanity of England. To say that short, frail and wispy 15-year-old me didn't fit in would be such an understatement as to be a joke. — Rabih Alameddine

The same failure of liberalism is evident in Western Europe, where the dogma of multiculturalism has left a secular Europe very slow to address the looming problem of religious extremism among its immigrants. The people who speak most sensibly about the threat that Islam poses to Europe are actually fascists.
To say that this does not bode well for liberalism is an understatement: It does not bode well for the future of civilization. — Sam Harris

Oh, Armand!" Agnes whirled away to embrace him now. "I do like her. You were ever so clever to find her."
Armand actually chuckled as he hugged her back. "I'm glad, Agnes. I like her too."
"Oh you!" Agnes pulled back to slap his chest playfully at the reprimand. "Ever the man of understatement. You don't just like her, Armand. I can read your thoughts. You love her."
Eshe stilled at the words, a little startled by them, though she didn't know why. They were life mates; love came naturally and easily between life mates. However, she'd been preoccupied by other matters such as the case and the great sex life mates enjoyed and hadn't given a thought to love developing between them.
Her gaze slid to Armand to find his expression solemn as he met her gaze and said, "Yes, I do love her. — Lynsay Sands

To say I didn't have great luck in the guy department was like saying Ryan Seacrest didn't have great luck in the height department: total understatement. — Gemma Halliday

Understatement has become part of the tradition. A proposal to build a history room to house the football team's memorabilia was immediately shelved when many former players complained. What makes this program so special is what you carry in your heart, they argued, not what you hang on the wall. — Neil Hayes

Justus tried to make an objective assessment of Miguel. What was the big deal with him, anyway? So he was easy on the eyes. Actually that was an understatement; he was for female eyes, a virtual feast. He was a perfect physical specimen, and very sensual. He seemed to positively ooze sex and eroticism with his every move, look, and touch. Justus turned her head toward him to steal a glance at his profile, but he caught her looking at him.
His eyes were so arresting, they were a dark, fierce green, like beautiful shining emeralds. She also noticed flecks of gold laced through them, reminiscent of cat's eyes. Not any ordinary house cat, these were the eyes of a wild predator.
He was a panther; with his black hair and green eyes and the way he moved, so gracefully, yet with definite strength and agility. She sighed to herself, so much for her objectivity. — Amanda Bretz

We stood there for a moment, stunned. The crosswalk light turned green, and Georgia hooked her arm through mine as we stepped out into the street.
"Weird night," she said finally, breaking our silence.
"Understatement of the year," I replied. "Should we tell Mamie and Papy about it?"
"What?" Georgia laughed. "And spoil Papy's 'Paris is safe' delusion? They'd never let us out of the house again. — Amy Plum

Shut up, idiot," he growled.
"Oops," Ian replied, looking uncomfortable. "I feel stupid, now."
Peter shook his head. "That's the understatement of the year. — Rose Wynters

Alec: So you met jace. What did you think?
Kit: Of Jace?
Alec: Just making small talk.
Kit: Jace isn't much like you.
Alec: That's an understatement. But it doesn't matter. Parabatai don't need to be like each other. They just need to complement each other. To work well together.
Kit: And you and Jace complement each other?
Alec: I remember when I met him. He walked out of a Portal from Idiris. He was skinny and he had bruises and he had these big eyes. He was arrogant, too. He and Isabelle used to fight ... But to me everything aobut him said "Love me, because nobody else has". It was all over him, like fingerprints. — Cassandra Clare

The main goal of the regulatory policy has been to control the size of Mumbai by penalizing any new development, fearing that economic success would attract more people.' Yes, we have deliberately planned for our cities to fail. That has been our intent. If they succeed, then more people would move there, 'who would have to share an already deficient and immutable infrastructure'. Bertaud concludes: 'This is a very pessimistic view of urban development.' An understatement, so classically French! — Mihir S. Sharma

Deceivingly, Miss Neville, the word vodka means 'little water.' The Russians are masters of the understatement. - Lord Nash — Liz Carlyle

That transformation is to lose everything is an understatement so vast as to be without meaning. One has to lose everything, and one has to lose the one who has lost everything ... — Steven Harrison

But what the long walk had not done was reveal the cause of the inherent distaste that had sprung out of nowhere overtaking her there under the tree. On the cold, damp grass, or up against the rough tree trunk. He had done it many times without a second thought, and in more challenging situations. It would have been nothing at all to wrap her long legs around his waist, brace one hand against the tree trunk, hold her tight with his other arm, and give the lady exactly what she wanted.

But for some reason he had not been able to do it. For the first time in his life, his body had been willing but his mind had not. Labeling the experience unpleasant would be a severe understatement. — Evangeline Collins

Jordan, the shy Runner with the copper braids, asks me twice if I'm okay. I just shrug her off. Yeah, something's wrong. Isn't that the understatement of the year. — Marie Lu

3053Geography also gave Russia a rich choice of potential enemies. — Margaret MacMillan

How many Elysiums have you been to?"
"Three," I said immediately. "At least ... this will be my third one."
"And how many Elysiums do you think I've been to?"
"Um. More than three?"
"I do appreciate your gift for the understatement. — Julie Kagawa

Never exaggerate. It is a matter of great importance to forego superlatives, in part to avoid offending the truth, and in part to avoid cheapening your judgment. Exaggeration wastes distinction and testifies to the paucity of your understanding and taste. Praise excites anticipation and stimulates desire. Afterwards when value does not measure up to price, disappointment turns against the fraud and takes revenge by cheapening both the appraised and the appraise. For this reason let the prudent go slowly, and err in understatement rather than overstatement. The extraordinary of every kind is always rare, wherefore temper your estimate. — Baltasar Gracian

Yes, they're a little biased there, I agree. Mike smiles at this understatement, knowing as I do that saying they're a little biased in Mudd's favor at the Mudd-family-run Mudd home in Maryland is like saying cheese steaks are kind of associated with Philadelphia. — Sarah Vowell

Brody cannot believe the size of the creature, and with a classic, practical understatement tells Quint his assessment: You're gonna need a bigger boat. Awestruck, they all view the full-sized, massive shark circling the boat. Quint estimates it is 25 feet long: Three tons of him. — Roy Scheider

The understatement, the self-ridicule, the delight in the foreignness of foreigners, the complete denial of any attempt to enlist the sympathies of his readers in the hardships he has capriciously invited. — Evelyn Waugh

I hated the term "heartbroken." It was such an understatement. "Broken" typically implied you were talking about something you could put back together. Or replace. My heart didn't feel like it was broken. It felt like it had been tossed into the blender and liquidized at 180 MPH. — Rachel K. Burke

To say I have frizzy hair is an understatement. It is kinky, more pubic than cranial, and whitish blond, breaking off easily, like hay. — Kathryn Stockett

The beer came and I said, "Joe, I'm thinking that there is something larger here than an attorney's zealous defense of his client." The master of understatement. — Robert Crais

If you'd stop chattering, we could go get lunch." "You're the one who started the conversation by asking why I wear my purse." "How was I to know you'd give me a full inventory of what you carry? Other women keep that a secret." "I'm not like other women." There's an understatement. "I have noticed. — Cathy Marie Hake

To say that from the moment her lover had left, O began to await his return would be an understatement. She turned into pure vigil, darkness in waiting expectation of light. — Pauline Reage

Billions of years ago God was creating universes and life; thousands of years ago he was creating angry floods, sin-saving human sacrifices and audible burning bushes. Today he occasionally appears on a piece of toast. To state that God has become reclusive over the years would be an overwhelming understatement. — Trevor Treharne

My father was a really funny guy. He lived a good long life. And he was the reason I wanted to be funny and become a comedian and a comedy writer, so to say that he's somewhat of a mythic figure in my life would be an understatement. — Carol Leifer

To say that I wished I wasn't there would be a ludicrous understatement, but I'd only ever had the illusion of choice: We have to do this, Hank had said. It's for Ellis. To refuse would have been an act of calculated cruelty. And so, because of my husband's war with his father and their insane obsession with a mythical monster, we'd crossed the Atlantic at the very same time a real madman, a real monster, was attempting to take over the world for his own reasons of ego and pride. — Sara Gruen

To say the loaner was not pretty was an understatement. It was a 1907's olive-green Buick Century with a white top. Lindsay felt like she was driving her living-room couch, but despite the looks, the engine purred and it glided over potholes in the road like butter
on toast. — Jenn McKinlay

Emptiness and boredom: what a complete understatement. What I felt was complete desolation. Desolation, despair and boredom. — Susanna Kaysen

Hours is an understatement. I honestly don't know how the director and editor decide each week what actually makes it on the air. There's of course director and cast commentary on each episode on the DVD. We had a blast recording that. — Joel McHale

To say a tiger is an "outside" animal is an understatement that is best appreciated when a tiger is inside. — John Vaillant

They faced each other in silence for a long minute, both of them clearly uncomfortable. He hated all the awkwardness between them.
To hell with that. He smiled at her. "So do I get to know what's in that diary?"
She blushed crimson. "That diary got you into this mess. You could have been killed. How can you joke about it?"
"No joke. I'm sincerely interested." An understatement. He would have given his antique baseball bat collection to know what she'd written about him ten years ago.
"I was a foolish teenager."
"And now?" He stepped closer. — Dana Marton

To ask if I am mischievous is the understatement of all time. — Malcolm Gets

Kalona's back. The spell worked. One of Neferet's hostages got out. And to say Neferet's pissed is like saying Louis Vuitton makes cute purses. Hello, understatement of the decade. — P.C. Cast

I'm obsessive. That's the word for me. I obsess - perhaps to the point where it's moderately dysfunctional. I tend to put a book through about 100 revisions. If anything, that's an understatement. If there's another author out there who does this sort of revision, I would really like to meet him. Maybe we could form some sort of support group. — Patrick Rothfuss

She was a cutter. Only saying she was a cutter might be an understatement. She was a destroyer of beautiful things. — Jaden Wilkes

The way you walk is slash and burn.
Like understatement's now a crime. — Justin Quinn

Nothing in a language is less translatable than its modes of understatement. — George Steiner

To prove that Wall Street is an early omen of movements still to come in GNP, commentators quote economic studies alleging that market downturns predicted four out of the last five recessions. That is an understatement. Wall Street indexes predicted nine out of the last five recessions! And its mistakes were beauties. — Paul Samuelson

It is an understatement to say that the time has arrived for a serious and open international dialogue regarding the possibility of future interplanetary relations. In no other area of human experience has so much evidence existed for so long, and yet been attended by such a paucity of serious research and analysis - at least in the civilian domain. While the subject matter of UFOs itself is extraordinary, it is the absence of a serious human response to it that is most extraordinary. — Steven M. Greer

To say that my dad pushed me is an understatement. I was never naturally drawn to football. — Thierry Henry

When you hear that China is overcrowded, that's an understatement. I was shocked at the number of people. Even in the rural areas. I was also shocked at the poverty and at the living conditions. — Rosemary Mahoney

Elizabeth Taylor is, in my opinion, the greatest actress in film history. She instinctively understands the camera and its nonverbal intimacies. Opening her violet eyes, she takes us into the liquid realm of emotion, which she inhabits by Pisces intuition. Richard Burton said that Taylor showed him how to act for the camera. Economy and understatement are essential. At her best, Elizabeth Taylor simply is. An electric, erotic charge vibrates the space between her face and the lens. It is an extra-sensory, pagan phenomenon. — Camille Paglia

Whether you are sixteen or over sixty, remember, understatement is the rule of a fine makeup artist. — Helena Rubinstein

To say that I am organized is an understatement, but my car tells a different story. — Emily Procter

Without question, his picture did not do him justice, but again, he was dead when it was taken — Loren D. Estleman

I'm pretty blessed when it comes to clear skin. I owe that to being Cape Verdian. My whole family has great skin. My grandfather is 80 but doesn't look a day over 50. And we all love the sun, too, so blessed is an understatement! — Amber Rose

As did Jesus, when he said to his dear ones, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves" (Matt. 10:16). The metaphor so perfectly describes our situation we almost want to smile - like when the young bride and groom are waving good-bye and the grandfather leans over to the grandmother and whispers, "They have no idea what they've just gotten themselves into." The humor of absurd understatement. But — John Eldredge

To only call Wizards, Aliens, and Starships engaging would be a real understatement
it is a delightful, funny, and immensely interesting romp through science and fiction. From candlepower to teleportation, all the way to the fate of the cosmos in the span of a googol years, this is a cornucopia of teachable material. It is also a reminder of the simple thrill of applying science to the world around us, real or imagined. A new classic. — Caleb Scharf

To say she was attractive would be an understatement. Calling her 'attractive' would be like calling the Taj Mahal a marble grave. — Mallika Nawal

I don't like being flattered. It doesn't suit my English sensibilities. Remember, we are the great country of understatement. — Martin Parr

The truth is, if I could bottle your water-lily scent and carry it with me as I wandered the desert, even if I was sick from the sun and dying from thirst, only to be saved by a desert sheikh who wished to barter for it, and even should the trading of it save my life, I would not part with it for all the jewels, silks, and precious riches of Egypt and all the lands surrounding it. So to say your scent is pleasant to me is an understatement most villainous. — Colleen Houck

Surely you're joking Theodore?' he protested. 'You mean to say that each snail is both a male and a female?'
'Yes indeed,' said Theodore, adding with masterly understatement, 'it's very curious.'
'Good God,' cried Larry. 'I think it's unfair. All those damned slimy things wandering about seducing each other like mad all over the bushes, and having the pleasures of both sensations. Why couldn't such a gift be given to the human race? That's what I want to know. — Gerald Durrell

The quotation-business is booming. No subdivision of the culture seems too narrow to have a quotation book of its own ... It would be an understatement to say that these books lean on one another. To compare them is to stroll through a glorious jungle of incestuous mutual plagiarism. — James Gleick

The word, 'issues,' is perhaps a misnomer, a gross understatement, or a pale and withered description for very real psychological illnesses and emotional losses. Nevertheless, "post-adoption issues" is a catch-all phrase, and at least it avoid pathologizing adoptees. — Laura Dennis

Kenney knows two essential truths about melodrama: First that it is most powerful when combined with irony and understatement; and second that it is a salient feature of modern life. — Stefan Kanfer

All this display, while the working classes were pinched beyond bearing; it was not wise, or tasteful: it smacked of ostentatious wealth. The Europe from which Phryne had lately come was impoverished, even the nobility; and was keeping its head down, still shocked by the Russian revolution. It had become fashionable to make no display; understatement had become most stylish. — Kerry Greenwood

Meet my cat, Felipe. I should probably mention, he doesn't like strangers. * Understatement of the year. The gigantic, furry, striped monster with saber teeth and red glowing eyes was her cat? "Holy fuck, woman. He's the size of a bloody car. — Eve Langlais

Is Understatement 101 a course in medical school?"
"Of course. It's the prereq for Lying Through One's Teeth. — Jodi Picoult