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Surprise
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“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.”
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“... there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.”
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“Surprises are like misfortunes or herrings — they rarely come single.”
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“You're never safe from being surprised till you're dead.”
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“... the cream of enjoyment in this life is always impromptu. The chance walk; the unexpected visit; the unpremeditated journey; the unsought conversation or acquaintance.”
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“Ah, I'm a woman that's been clear around the world in my rocking chair, and I tell you we all get surprises now and then.”
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“Never think you've seen the last of anything.”
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“You could have knocked me down with a fender.”
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“In a way, all creative writing is about the unexpected. Speakers in poems and essays and characters in narratives are coping with a series of surprises as they move through life, just as we are. The unexpected happens or the expected happens but the reaction is a surprise. We surprise ourselves and we surprise one another. The only thing that isn't surprising is that we continue to be surprised.”
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“To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.”
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“The blow you can't see coming is the blow that knocks you out ...”
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“Breakthroughs, in art, in culture, in personality, come when tackling the unexpected.”
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“Surprise is the enemy of prudence.”
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“Surprises, I feel now, are primarily a form of violence.”
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“But the English do not know what surprise is. No one ever turns his head to look at anyone else in the street.”
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“It's not the punch you expect that knocks you down.”