Saving Face Quotes

And we all vied, in saving face, to be the greatest student of human nature, the person with the quickest sense of humor. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

I've got to get Brittany alone if I'm gonna have any chance of saving face and saving my Honda. Does her freakout session mean she really doesn't hate me? I've never seen that girl do anything not scripted or 100 percent intentional. She's a robot. Or so I thought. She's always looked and acted like a princess on camera every time I've seen her. Who knew it'd be my bloody arm that would crack her.
I look over at Brittany. She's focused on my arm and Miss Koto's ministrations. I wish we were back in the library. I could swear back there she was thinking about getting it on with me.
I'm sporting la tengo dura right here in front of Miss Koto just thinking about it. Gracias a Dios the nurse walks over to the medicine cabinet. Where's a large chem book when you need one? ~ Simone Elkeles

Before she mumbled, "Whatever," which, translated by a girl who understood girls, meant he was right and she was saving face. ~ Kristen Ashley

Indians want to respect the managers, so at times, don't ask questions. Americans want to respect the managers so they do ask questions to show they were listening and to not to take up time later on. So the underlying value is respect for both sides. However for Indians, it's a matter of saving face - just in case everyone else has understood, they remain quiet, not wanting to be the only one needing an explanation. ~ Ranjini Manian & Joanne Grady Huskey

Peace is the alternative to war, and nonviolence should be seen as the antidote to violence, not simply as its opposite. Nonviolence is more concerned with saving life than with saving face. ~ Jesse Jackson

Whether we forget something we are not proud of, or embellish it, or blame somebody else, we want to save face by not owning up to shortcomings. ~ Karen Horney

Couldn't help it, he insisted. My dad would bell me to draw a flower and it would turn into a Venus flytrap chewing on a hand. ~ Judy Budnitz

What's your dad do? I said. Designs new and better wings for new and better sing nuts, he said proudly. It sounded like he was repeating something a sarcastic adult had said. ~ Judy Budnitz

That's right I never hold my tongue for saving face
Even the mic feedback will humm "Amazing Grace" ~ Mac Lethal

That's what you asked him?"
"Yeah, why?" Gina scrunched her face with confusion.
"I thought you were going to say something juicy."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, like if he would be your sex slave or something like that."
"Kelly! Why would I ask him that?"
"He's a hot guy, you're a hot girl. We're in a super romantic castle on the coast." Kelly waved her hand around the room for emphasis. "Why the hell not generate some heat in between these cold stone walls? ~ Lisa Carlisle

The best way to save face is not to use the lower half. ~ Lou Holtz

I look down at myself, but I don't need to. I can feel it. My hot blood is pounding through my body, flooding capillaries and lighting up cells like Fourth of July fireworks. I can feel the elation of every atom in my flesh, brimming with gratitude for the second chance they never expected to get. The chance to start over, to live right, to love right, to burn up in a fiery cloud and never again be buried in the mud. I kiss Julie to hide the fact that I'm blushing. My face is bright red and hot enough to melt steel.

Okay, corpse, a voice in my head says, and I feel a twitch in my belly, more like a gentle nudge than a kick. I'm going now. I'm sorry I couldn't be here for your battle; I was fighting my own. But we won, right? I can feel it. There's a shiver in our legs, a tremor like the Earth speeding up, spinning off into uncharted orbits. Scary, isn't it? But what wonderful thing didn't start out scary? I don't know what the next page is for you, but whatever it is for me I swear I'm not going to fuck it up. I'm not going to yawn off in the middle of a sentence and hide it in a drawer. Not this time. Peel off these dusty wool blankets of apathy and antipathy and cynical desiccation. I want life in all its stupid sticky rawness.

Okay.

Okay, R.

Here it comes. ~ Isaac Marion

Dear God, I worship You and thank You that You are greater than anything I face. Thank You that You are a compassionate God of mercy and You hear my prayers and answer them. I thank You that You inhabit my praise, and that in Your presence my life and circumstances are changed. I am grateful that praising You changes me. ~ Stormie O'martian

Amazingly, he smiled at me. "You're bossy." His pupils were still huge, but a little color had begun to come back into his face, especially along his cheekbones. "I like bossy chicks. ~ Lili St. Crow

Right now all I want is this. I just want to be here. With you. Whatever comes next, we'll face it together. ~ Tahereh Mafi

There's no face more sincere than one washed in tears. ~ William Shakespeare

Everyone he loved was gone. Everything he knew was over. Where was he supposed to go now? What was he supposed to do? Just then, someone grabbed him from behind. Before he knew what was happening, a gloved hand was over his nose and mouth, and his legs were kicked out from under him. He hit the ground hard and found himself lying face-first in the mud. The gloved hand tightened its grip. He couldn't move, couldn't scream, couldn't even breathe. "Don't make a sound," someone whispered in his ear. "Just listen carefully, and do exactly what I say. ~ Joel C. Rosenberg

Perrin told me about his people before I ever came here," she said. He was not a man to brag, but things had a way of coming out. "When hail flattens your crops, when the winter kills half your sheep, you buckle down and keep going. When Trollocs devastated the Two Rivers, you fought back, and when you were done with them, you set about rebuilding without missing a step." She would not have believed that without seeing for herself, not of southerners. These people would have done very well in Saldaea, where Trolloc raids were a matter of course, in the northern parts at least. "I cannot tell you the weather will be what it should tomorrow. I can tell you that Perrin and I will do what needs to be done, whatever can be done. And I don't need to tell you that you will take what each day brings, whatever it is, and be ready to face the next. That is the kind of people the Two Rivers breeds. That is who you are. ~ Robert Jordan

A man must know how to estimate a sour face. The sour face of the multitude, like thier sweet faces, have no deep cause, but are put on and off as the wind blows and the newspaper directs. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

He should stop, but the intoxicating sensation of Eliza's hot breath on Thomas's face dominated him and he could think of nothing else. Nothing but kissing her. The world around him stopped and he moved both hands to cup her smooth cheeks as he continued to taste her lips. She pressed into his kiss, moving her own delicate hands to his face. Sampling the sweetness her mouth was the biggest mistake he'd ever made. Just one would never be enough. Reluctant, ~ Amber Lynn Perry

An unforgiving nature reflects in your face. Holding negative energy drags down the facial muscles, puckers one's frown and causes lines around the mouth. Working daily on forgiveness (forgiving oneself as well as one's enemies) is the cheapest, most effective facelift in the whole wide world. All it requires is love and discipline. ~ Sarah Miles

Watching him walk over, Alex mused that Eli Cooper was the sort of man who knew how to use his physicality. Beneath his handmade shirts and tailored suits, a street fighter hummed through every loose-limbed motion. But that impression did not extend to his face, which was structurally perfect. Skyscraper-high cheekbones. Superhero jaw. A mouth that should have a government warning. There were no signs of past trouble with a jealous husband or an abandoned girlfriend. No one had ever broken his nose. No one had busted his lip.
Strange, because her first instinct on seeing him was to roundhouse kick him into the next millennium. ~ Kate Meader

Another study on smiles found that seeing a friend's happy face has a greater impact on our moods then receiving a five-thousand-dollar raise. Did you know your smile is worth that much? After I read the results of that study I went around the church office smiling at the staff. "There's your raise," I said. "And there's your raise, and there's your raise."
Can you believe they told me they preferred cash? Even so, smilers are work-place winners. ~ Joel Osteen

And by the way, Lanwa, you must stop preaching the sermon of our people's old custom and tradition. This your long story of kinsman and cousin and half-brother connection with my late husband cannot catch me like a deer in a snare! I reserve the right to choose the type of life I want to lead. It could be that of woman deliberately aloof in self-contentment, untouched by the victimisation and oppression of the man; or that of a woman sulking the anger of an injury, protesting humiliations heaped on her, over the years by the man. I may choose to shield off man, permanently in my life, and transfer all affection and devotion to my children, spoiling them every minute with motherly love and care. I may deliberately engage in twenty different odd jobs, from cockcrow to cockroost, not resting and not sparing any moment to talk to men, or even look at any man's face. Not your business Lanwa, how I want to live my life! ~ Bayo Adebowale

Botox, trust me I've been tempted - but I resist! Think about what happens to your muscles - and your skin - if you're sick and don't move for a few days. It all atrophies! Plus, if you freeze a muscle in your face, other muscles have to compensate! And once you stop, what does that look like? ~ Salma Hayek

Violet pulled a face. "Of course I have great ambition that my children marry well and happily, but I am not the sort who'd marry her daughter off to a seventy-year-old man just because he was a duke!"
"Did the dowager countess do that?" Benedict couldn't recall any seventy-year-old dukes making recent trips to the altar.
"No," Violet admitted, "but she would. Whereas I - "
Benedict bit back a smile as his mother pointed to herself with great flourish.
"I would allow my children to marry paupers if it would bring them happiness."
Benedict raised a brow.
"They would be well-principled and hardworking paupers, of course," Violet explained. "No gamblers need apply."
Benedict didn't want to laugh at his mother, so instead he coughed discreetly into his handkerchief. ~ Julia Quinn

His face lit up. "I've always wanted to fuck a Swede. ~ Marita A. Hansen

Nobody hands you excellence on a silver platter. You earn it through planning, preparing, and persisting in the face of all obstacles. ~ Terry Orlick

Why, I can smile and murder whiles I smile,
And cry 'content' to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face for all occasions ~ William Shakespeare

He could feel her warm breath on his face and the heat of her body just barely touching his and he wanted her with an ache that couldn't be explained. ~ Jill Shalvis

Lifting my face toward the sun, I lift the weight of the world off my shoulders. ~ Marty Rubin

Goodness has no opposite. Most of us consider goodness as the opposite of the bad or evil and so throughout history in any culture goodness has been considered the other face of that which is brutal. So man has always struggled against evil in order to be good; but goodness can never come into being if there is any form of violence or struggle. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

I've missed this," he said with a groan. "The way you fuck yourself against my face. ~ Elle Aycart

And another thing - when you talk to that pompous ass on the phone, do not go all syrupy." He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her from his superior height.
"Syrupy?" she echoed indignantly, outraged at the accusation. "I never sound syrupy." Her large eyes flashed a warning at him, daring him to pursue his point.
He dared to. "Oh yes, you do." He clasped his hands together and made a face, his voice rising an octave as he simpered. "Oh, Marie, the flowers are so beautiful. Thomas Ivan gave them to me." He rolled his eyes as he mimicked her. ~ Christine Feehan

Relationships shouldn't be disposable. If there's something worth saving - not always the case, some relationships are irreconcilable - but if there is something that you determine is worth saving, then try to do that. ~ Steve Carell

Just then Patch ambled through the front door. I did a double take to make it was really him. I hadn't expected him to come. We'd never resolved our fight, and I'd pridefully refused to take the first step, forcing myself to lock my cell phone in a drawer every time I was tempted to call him and apologize, despite my increasing distress that he might never call either. My pride immediately turned to relief at the sight of him. I hated fighting. I hated not having him close. If he was ready to mend this, so was I.A smile flickered across my face at the sight of his costume; black jeans, black t-shirt, black face mask. The latter concealed all but his cool, assessing gaze.
"There's my date," I said. "Fashionably late. ~ Becca Fitzpatrick

There are things we don't do. From this moment forth, let us all ensure our every action reflects well on us and our ancestors. Let us live to the highest standards, lest we win this war only to find ourselves staring in the mirror at the face of our late enemy. ~ Jack Campbell

I want to give you something." He slid the ring off his finger. "Up until this week, I've never wanted anything more in my life than to wear this ring. Not as a piece of jewelry, but because I thought I could find meaning in saving others, in being a hero. But the meaning I've finally found in my life is from meeting you." He set the ring on the palm of his hand and held it out. "I want you to have it. ~ Scott Speer

Elizabeth lay face-down on the massage table, and allowed Marco to relieve the stress of the business day with firm and knowing fingers. Success, she decided, was often a matter of knowing when to relax. ~ Barbara Taylor Bradford

To be mature means to face, and not evade, every fresh crisis that comes ~ Fritz Kunkel

I am now about to make the great adventure. I cannot endure this agonizing pain any longer. It is all over my body. Neither can I face the impending blindness. I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen. ~ Clara Blandick

Life is not a matter for simple optimism
for there is evil; nor for mere pessimism
for there is good. The possibility for good in the face of evil is what gives life tragic meaning. ~ Rollo May

As they gently lowered it into the earth, all stared silently at the coffin but one: a young woman of twenty-five who glanced absentmindedly into the distance where an unknown figure stood – watching, waiting, his face buried in the shadow of his hat. Whether by intuition or paranoia she could not tell, but the presence of the man troubled her and her eyes were fixed on his motionless body and would not stir. Tourists rarely came to a town as small and uneventful as theirs, let alone to visit a funeral where they did not introduce themselves and only beheld the spectacle from afar. ~ Renate Linnenkoper

There's no such thing as going to a soapbox and saying, 'The government's corrupt,' and not having the intelligence service see your face. In the digital world, that can be done. ~ Bill Gates

Stop!" I sent my open hand sailing and slapped Talbot across his face.
He let go of the spear and stared down at me-that rage burning in his eyes. Then he blinked and clutched his palm over the red hand-shaped mark I'd left on his face. "What was that for!"
"He submitted.Let.Him.Go. ~ Bree Despain

My mother always told me growing up I had a punchable face. Little did I know she was predicting my television career. ~ Michael Emerson

They ate dinner in silence. Her husband did not look at her. her face annoyed him, he did not know why. She could be good-looking but there were times when she was not. Her face was like a series of photographs, some of which ought to have been thrown away. Tonight it was like that. ~ James Salter

I think that focusing on the money, on the business, is not enough. ~ Sergei Bubka

Marriage, if one will face the truth, is an evil, but a necessary evil. ~ Menander

You must learn to face the fact, always, that you choose to do what you do, and that everything you do affects not only you but others. ~ Holly Lisle

She glanced at Evie, who flashed her a smile, and Annabelle, whose face was reassuringly calm. They would help each other through all the challenges and joys and fears of their lives, Daisy thought, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with love for all of them.
"I will never live away from you," she said. "I want the four of us to be together always. I could never bear to lose any of you."
She felt Annabelle's slippered toe nudge her leg affectionately. "Daisy ... you can never lose a true friend. ~ Lisa Kleypas