A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne

A clever conjurer is welcome anywhere, and those of us whose powers of entertainment are limited to the setting of booby-traps or the arranging of apple-pie beds must view with envy the much greater tribute of laughter and applause which is the lot of the prestidigitator with some natural gift for legerdemain.

A. N. Wilson
A. N. Wilson

The really clever people now want to be lawyers or journalists.

A. S. Byatt
A. S. Byatt

Why do we take pleasure in gruesome death, neatly packaged as a puzzle to which we may find a satisfactory solution through clues - or if we are not clever enough, have it revealed by the all-powerful tale-teller at the end of the book? It is something to do with being reduced to, and comforted by, playing by the rules.

Abbey Clancy
Abbey Clancy

I was already in a band, and the teachers called my mum in and said: 'Abbey's so clever, it's a total waste if she follows her dream'. But I never wanted to do a job I didn't love, and I'd always wanted to be a model or an actress or a singer.

Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.

Ada Yonath
Ada Yonath

DNA is a code of four letters; proteins are made up of amino acids which come in 20 forms. So the ribosome is a very clever machine that reads one language and operates in another.

Agyness Deyn
Agyness Deyn

The fact is I'm choosy, but mainly about a man's character. He has to be interesting, funny and clever. I don't even mind if he's not very good-looking.

Al Yankovic
Al Yankovic

There are a lot of songs that would ostensibly be a good candidate for parody, yet I can't think of a clever enough idea.

Alan Cheuse
Alan Cheuse

From sublime affairs of state to the stark and vulgar popular culture of our own contemporary lives, let's make this descent into the lower registers together and recognize the good, nasty fun of 'Gone Girl,' Chicago writer Gillian Flynn's novel about the mysterious disappearance of a clever and deceptive young Midwestern housewife.

Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke

I've always felt that improv looks and feels more clever when you're there to experience it live than when you have the degree of separation that television creates. Television raises expectations.