Mallory Ortberg Quotes

I don't like intellectuals, or, at least, people who call themselves that way, because I am under the impression that there is always something condescending in their demeanour, and I don't like condescending people.

One of the surest signs of the Philistine is his reverence for the superior tastes of those who put him down.

Hypocrisy is the essence of snobbery, but all snobbery is about the problem of belonging.

There is a level of snobbery and fickleness in L.A.

The kind of people who always go on about whether a thing is in good taste invariably have very bad taste.

Inverted snobbery is just as dangerous as snobbery itself, you know - that pride in having nothing.

Although the rudiments of snobbery are there, its finer developments are basically alien to the Australian soul - that is, if Australians have a soul; many people believe that they are too matter-of-fact and down-to-earth to have such fancy commodities.

It is absurd to ape our betters.

He who meanly admires a mean thing is a snob--perhaps that is a safe definition of the character.

Snobbishness, like hypocrisy, is a check upon behaviour whose value from a social point of view has been underrated.

Who, born for the universe, narrow'd his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for mankind; Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat To persuade Tommy Townshend to lend him a vote. Who too deep for his hearers still went on refining, And thought of convincing while they thought of dining: Though equal to all things, for all things unfit; Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit.

We had enough quite enough snobbery in this world without exporting it to the hereafter.

As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the correct response to where did you go to school is, "School? Why, I never had much in the way of book learnin' and such." Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there.

Snobs talk as if they had begotten their own ancestors.

The word snob belongs to the sour-grape vocabulary.

The small town smart set is deadly serious about its smartness.

All the pictures on the walls, they all white as lilies and smiling like alligators.

The pure modernist is merely a snob; he cannot bear to be a month behind the fashion.

He who meanly admires mean things is a Snob.

Snobbery, being an aspiring failing, is sometimes the prophecy of better things.

Even the most elitist director or author who claims that he doesn't care if his works are seen or not, then I have to think that he's either a liar or a hypocrite.

Exclusiveness is a characteristic of recent riches, high society, and the skunk.

The most wretched people in the world are those who tell you they like every kind of music 'except country.' People who say that are boorish and pretentious at the same time.