Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Who Said It?

"Moderation is a fatal thing... 
Nothing succeeds like excess."
Oscar Wilde?  Or...
The Dowager Countess
of Grantham, after viewing 
the above extravaganza?
Answer:  Both.
Not to quibble, but during the Season Three premiere of my beloved "Downton Abbey," the Countess omitted the first part of the quote.  I'd call that a bit of a sticky wicket, wouldn't you?  Did she intentionally half-cite Oscar Wilde and pass it off as one of her own clever observations?  Was the SJG the only ex-English major with too much time on my hands to catch this literary coinkinky? More importantly, if you spill sherry on the rug, leave a bar of soap under the tub, poison a pie, or hide a stack of dress shirts, and no one sees you, did you do anything wrong?  Don't be silly.  Of course not!  Either way, the truncated Oscar Wilde/Countess quipster is now my official saying for 2013.  I plan to utter it often, a la Maggie Smith, for no apparent reason, other than it sums up the way I want to live my life.  "Nothing succeeds like excess" will be my go-to sentiment, as opposed to my usual retort when things take an unexpected turn:  "Out of my way, bitches." 

2 comments:

  1. God! How do you choose between two such wonderful choices. "Out of my way bitches" has such an efficient/authoritative/contemporary air to it. A real executive tool. Seems a shame not to fully employ both in your arsenal of go-to-isms.

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  2. Hmmm.... you may have a point. "Nothing succeeds like excess! First one to the banquet table wins. Out of my way, bitches."

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