quotations about tact
Tact is the oil which lubricates society and prevents its harsh and heterogeneous particles from grating against each other; and in proportion as a person possesses this valuable emollient, so will he go roughly or smoothly through the world.
CHARLES WILLIAM DAY
The Maxims, Experiences, and Observations of Agogos
Never won a medal for bravery
Never won a medal for tact
Never thought the truth would enslave me
Turn me into something so close to a liar
FAR
"Joining the Circus"
Some people mistake weakness for tact. If they are silent when they ought to speak and so feign an agreement they do not feel, they call it being tactful. Cowardice would be a much better name.
FRANK MEDLICOTT
Reader's Digest, July 1958
Tact is not a small thing; in the battle of life it is more powerful than a bludgeon.
ARTHUR LYNCH
Moods of Life
Nowadays, tact is the last thing you would expect from a social setting and being blunt is even considered a quality that one should possess if he or she wants to make it big.
MONET LU
"Bea Alonzo: The leading lady of all time", Asian Journal, February 25, 2017
Tact is the art of building a fire under people without making their blood boil.
FRANKLIN P. JONES
attributed, Quotable Quotes
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes.
HARRY S. TRUMAN
attributed, One Season of Hope
Tact carries a bunch of curiously-fashioned keys, that open all kinds of doors.
ANONYMOUS
The British Harbinger, April 1, 1870
Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.
ANONYMOUS
often wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill
Honey, tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic.
KAREN WALKER
Will & Grace
Tact is the intelligence of the heart.
ANONYMOUS
Ill-equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact
RUSH
"Limelight"
It is tact that is golden, not silence.
SAMUEL BUTLER
The Notebooks of Samuel Butler
A tactful man can pull the stinger from a bee without getting stung.
GEORGE HORACE LORIMER
Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son
Tact: to lie about others as you would have them lie about you.
OLIVER HERFORD
attributed, 20,000 Quips & Quotes
A minimum of culture and tact is fundamental for the strategic management of political relations.
YAMILY HABIB
"Three Temples and a Pilgrim: The inconsistencies of President Trump's Trip", Al Dia News, May 26, 2017
Our transformation into a society of tactless goons likely has a number of origins, but I'll focus on two. The first is the general chill-ification of society. Everything is casual and cool and totally fine so just go with it, OK? Established social norms don't need to exist over Gchat. But, while wearing sweatpants all the time is, indeed, very comfortable, perhaps we've forgotten that not everything can just be tossed in and set to wash on cold. Some things are like silk--more delicate. You might even have to send these things out to a professional. They require some presence of mind and just a little extra thinking. Silk, unlike cotton, has some boundaries.
KARA BROWN
"Mind Your Own Damn Business: An Ode to Tact", Jezebel, June 11, 2015
Tact is terrifying. Tact is what people use when they don't want you to get upset.
JULIE R. SMITH
"Don't panic over liver test results", The Berkeley Independent, May 31, 2017
Tact is the ability to shut your mouth before someone else does it for you.
EVAN ESAR
20,000 Quips & Quotes
Tact, because it mostly requires abstention, is the rare virtue that doesn't even require you to be a good person. All tact asks of you is not to be actively bad, and to know your place--where it is and where it absolutely is not.
KARA BROWN
"Mind Your Own Damn Business: An Ode to Tact", Jezebel, June 11, 2015