“She stared at him dully and said: I dont like crooks, and even if I did, I wouldnt like crooks that are stool-pigeons, and if I liked crooks that are stool-pigeons, I still wouldnt like you. She tu...”

“The people who lie the most are nearly always the clumsiest at it, and they're easier to fool with lies than most people, too. You'd think they'd be on the look-out for lies, but they seem to be th...”

“You know Quinn?" Macaulay asked me."Ten minutes ago I was putting him to bed."Macaulay grinned. "I hope you keep his acquaintance like that - social""Meaning what?"Macaulay's grin became rueful. "H...”

“Don't be so damned patronizing. Your performance so far has been a little less than dazzling.""I didn't mean no harm," I said and kissed her. "That a new dress?""Ah! Changing the subject, you coward.”

“...I guess I can put two and two together.""Sometimes the answer's four," I said, "and sometimes it's twenty-two...”

“My side felt a lot better when Nora called me at noon the next day. "My nice policeman wants to see you," she said. "How do you feel?""Terrible. I must've gone to bed sober." I pushed Asta out of t...”

“A bar, as any good dictionary will tell you, is a rod of wood or iron that can be used to fasten a gate. From this came the idea of a bar as any let or hindrance that can stop you going where you w...”

“Isolde took a swig. "It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. Your government just gave you two months to get knocked up." She held up the bottle, her face dull and red. "Cheers." "You better ge...”

“How about a drop of something to cut the phlegm?Why don't you stay sober today?We didn't come to New York to stay sober.”

“This is the city, and I am one of the citizens/Whatever interests the rest interests me”

“In some neighborhoods, faces mature faster than bodies.”

“My advice for aspiring writers is go to New York. And if you cant go to New York, go to the place that represents New York to you, where the standards for writing are high, there are other people w...”

“I couldn't have gotten sober without rehab because I needed the science.”