Wariness Quotes

When I was nominated for a Grammy, my label dropped me - I have a wariness about trying for a hit. ~ Tift Merritt

When the wave, equally suddenly, retreated, it left a void which resembled that of the morning, yet had a character of its own, because though the pattern was repeated it was in reverse order: the scattered schoolchildren who passed my window now were on their way home and there was something unrestrained and boisterous about them, whereas when they had walked past on their way to school in the morning they still bore the silent imprint of sleep and the innate wariness we feel toward things that have not yet begun. ~ Karl Ove Knausgaard

He wanted her. He wanted her completely.
But his family was waiting for him at supper, and his ancestors were staring down at him from their portrait frames, and *she* - the woman in question - was watching him with a wariness that broke his heart. ~ Julia Quinn

The time is ripe for looking back over the day, the week, the year, and trying to figure out where we have come from and where we are going to, for sifting through the things we have done and the things we have left undone for a clue to who we are and who, for better or worse, we are becoming. But again and again we avoid the long thoughts ... .We cling to the present out of wariness of the past. And why not, after all? We get confused. We need such escape as we can find. But there is a deeper need yet, I think, and that is the need - not all the time, surely, but from time to time - to enter that still room within us all where the past lives on as a part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves to turnings and to where our journeys have brought us. The name of the room is Remember - the room where with patience, with charity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived. ~ Frederick Buechner

And to the degree that the individual maintains a show before others that he himself does not believe, he can come to experience a special kind of alienation from self and a special kind of wariness of others. ~ Erving Goffman

Can't help but see the wariness, the effort, the impatience. I can't help but see two people together out of a sense of genetic duty, doomed already to bewilder and disappoint each other, each honor-bound to defy the other. ~ Khaled Hosseini

At school, Max searched the archives alone-Edmund had stopped appearing, and I didn't have the heart to summon him. Kylee was still acting timid and injured, and the ghost jocks were even more outrageously annoying-trying to cover their underlying nervousness, I thought.

Harry and Sara couldn't feel anything wrong, but they took their cues from us, and searched the student lounges with a wariness that I'd never seen from either of them. Britta was as sneering and mean as ever, completely unchanged, and I wanted to kiss her.

I managed to restrain myself. ~ Lee Nichols

You know how it is between sisters in their middle age? that old old friendship, how loose-fitting it is? the comfort and safety in it? how you can let silence lie between you without it taking on any weight? how you can let words out of your mouth without wariness or precision because you know your sister will listen to what's worthwhile and let the rest fall out of her ears into the air? how you can be surly, unreasonable, stupid, in the certainty of her grace? ~ Molly Gloss

Wariness about change is a kind of prairie wisdom. ~ Kathleen Norris

In Haiti, it - people seemed - in my experience in Haiti, people are so open to photographs and journalism. And there doesn't seem to be the same sort of restrictions or wariness about the press that you would experience in Washington, for instance, on many levels. ~ Carol Guzy

She's kind to me, but there's this distrust, this wariness. It's a let's-wait-and-see kind of feeling- let's wait and see when you hurt my son again. ~ Jenny Han

Mystery, why so attractive to me?
You blind me with fear, place hope on my tongue, and with a cold kiss draw me forward. Wary and trembling, I follow. ~ Richelle E. Goodrich

From a pragmatic point of view, the difference between living against a background of foreigness (an indifferent Universe) and one of intimacy (a benevolent Universe) means the difference between a general habit of wariness and one of trust. ~ William James

Billy pulled her snug against his body, forgetting his arousal in the urgent need to give her comfort.
He felt her stiffen, sought the reason, and realized she must have felt his erection. She shoved him away with the flat of her palms and stared up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. Or maybe shock was a better word.
Billy knew instantly what he'd lost. The wariness in her gaze spoke for itself. She'd always trusted him implicitly. Like a brother. But it was a lover's body she'd felt. He could see she was astonished that he'd become aroused by touching her.
He let his hands drop to his sides. He didn't think excuses would work, but he was willing to give them a try. His mouth curled up on one side in a cock-eyed grin. "Sorry about that. The feel of a female body does that to a man, whether he wants it to happen or not."
"It shouldn't happen between us," she said with certainty. "We're friends."
He shrugged. "You're female. I'm male. Sometimes it happens."
"Not to us," she insisted. She stared into his face suspiciously. "Or has it?"
"It might have happened once or twice. No big deal."
She stared at the visible bulge in his jeans, then glanced up at him, her face flushed and said, "It looks pretty big to me."
Billy couldn't help grinning. "Summer, you can't be this naïve. This is how a man reacts when he's around an attractive woman."
"You find me attractive?"
He saw the startled interest in her eyes and realized he'd op ~ Joan Johnston

A plague rides on the air here. The smell of rot! This is Doal's realm. Can't you feel it? The keep is doomed, don't you see? No, I will not pass through this gate. There is a disease in there I will not touch. ~ Kaoru Kurimoto

I can't allow myself to be wary of one place merely because it reminds me of another place where I almost died, because just about every place reminds me of another place ... ~ Dean Koontz

Hey umm ... Mikayla?" Jake says. Pitch, hit, chase, repeat.
Jake barely ever calls me Mikayla, so what ever it is he's about to say, I'm already paying attention.
"Yeah?" I answer, wariness in my voice.
"Umm, I know that uhh," he clears his throat, takes his cap off, runs his hand through his hair, then replaces the cap, backwards. Nervous habit. Shit.
"I know that you wear your mom's engagement ring, but umm ... I mean, what happens if, I mean when, a guy, uh, hopefully me. I mean, what happens if ... when ... said guy, me, wants to propose? ~ Jay McLean

I remain your pledged man," Tark avowed, touching a fist to his chest. "What are your orders?"
Jason turned to the stocky musician. "Do your best to help Galloran win this war."
"I swear it."
"And keep an eye on Rachel. See if you can get her to stop telling me she's going to see me again. I think she's jinxing us."
Rachel punched Jason's arm.
Tark eyed Rachel uncertainly. She saw a hint of disapproval in his gaze, along with a little wariness.
Jason smiled. "That's assault. Tark, take her out. ~ Brandon Mull

Laine had been very proud of herself last night. Nicholas had talked about ghosts and magic and woven a bit of a spell himself. He'd sounded so convincing, so logical, so sad, that she'd found herself wanting to believe him. But testing prods at his argument had made him angry, and long years with Gavin had taught her that angry, defensive people shared the lousy habit of being wrong. ~ Stephen M. Irwin

I can't stand to see you punish yourself."
I regarded him with wariness. "Do what?"
"Continue to punish youself for your father's sins," He replied steadily. "How long are you supposed to pay for them? How many vampires do you have to kill until you and your mum are squared? You're of the bravest people I've ever met, yet you're scared to death of your own mum. Don't you realize? It's not me for hiding in the closet - it's yourself? ~ Jeaniene Frost

Changed expression. Wariness, maybe. I felt a body move so close it was skimming my own, and a warm hand protectively settled at the base of my neck. Without turning I knew it was Ranger. ~ Janet Evanovich

Proceeding with caution and proceeding slowly are sometimes two different things. In certain circumstances, momentum could be more important than caution,
though it was never wise to dispense with wariness. ~ Dean Koontz

Trust in the familiar seems to be matched by wariness of the unfamiliar. Jennifer Richeson of Northwestern University has conducted experiments in which white subjects had to interact in some way with a white or a black man before taking a mental test. Those who dealt with the black man got lower scores on the test, and their brain scans showed what Prof. Richeson called "heightened activity in areas of the brain associated with regulating our thoughts and emotions." She interpreted this to mean that white subjects were struggling with the "awkwardness" or "exhaustion" of dealing with a black man, and that this interfered with their ability to take the mental test.
Researchers at Harvard and New York University had white and black subjects look repeatedly at a series of photographs of black and white faces, all with neutral expressions. Every time the subjects looked at one particular black face and one particular white face they got a mild electric shock. Lie detector-type devices showed that subjects would sweat - a typical stress reaction - when they saw the two faces they associated with the shocks. The researchers showed the photo series several times again, but without the shocks. White subjects quickly stopped sweating when they saw the white face formerly associated with the shock, but continued to sweat when they saw the black face. Black subjects had the opposite reaction, continuing to sweat when they saw the white but not the black face. Mahzarin Banaji, the ~ Jared Taylor

Vormurtos leaned on the frame with his arms crossed, and failed to move aside.

At Miles's polite, "Excuse us, please," Vormurtos pursed his lips in exaggerated irony.

"Why not? Everyone else has. It seems if you are Vorkosigan enough, you can even get away with murder."

Ekaterin stiffened unhappily. Miles hesitated a fractional moment, considering responses: explanation, outrage, protest? Argument in a hallway with a half-potted fool? No. I am Aral Vorkosigan's son, after all. Instead, he stared up unblinkingly, and breathed, "So if you truly believe that, why are you standing in my way?"

Vormurtos's inebriated sneer drained away, to be replaced by a belated wariness. With an effort at insouciance that he did not quite bring off, he unfolded himself, and opened his hand to wave the couple past. When Miles bared his teeth in an edged smile, he backed up an extra and involuntary step. Miles shifted Ekaterin to his other side and strode past without looking back.

Ekaterin glanced over her shoulder once, as they made their way down the corridor. In a tone of dispassionate observation, she murmured, "He's melted. You know, your sense of humor is going to get you into deep trouble someday."

"Belike," Miles sighed. ~ Lois McMaster Bujold

Should I say it again?" He looked confused for a beat, but then it turned to wariness. "I've never said that to anyone before. Am I supposed to give a longer speech or something?" A laugh flew out. Oh God. This man was priceless. Sofia finally found her voice. "You love me?" "Yeah, I do. I probably should have led with that, but the state of your fucking house really pisses me off and I got sidetracked. ~ Elle Kennedy

She continued to glow at the edge of his vision. When camp broke at dawn, he'd catch sight of her bright hair, notice her talking effortlessly with the Herrani, or trying to learn Dacran from the easterners. He watched the soldiers' wariness dissolve. They began to smile at her arrival, to like her despite themselves and her appearance: the very image of a Valorian warrior girl.
She kept close company with Roshar. Arin saw from afar the way the prince teased her. Heard her laugh. It squeezed a fist inside him. At dusk, the pair of them played cards. Roshar bled the air with a string of eastern curses when he lost. ~ Marie Rutkoski

Based on my time living with rats and mice in Washington, D.C., I have always assumed that animals will escape such fires, since their senses of smell, wariness of such dangers, and ability to move through almost invisible holes is so impressive, but I think that we should not dismiss the possibility that they, also, will be harmed. These reflections do not, of course, rule out burning meat trucks. And they don't mean that when the next slaughterhouse or vivisection lab burns down, I will denounce those who carried out the burning, or that I will feel anything other than joy in my heart ... ~ Bruce Friedrich

Daniel came to sit beside me, ignoring my wariness and settling into the thin, worn cushion. "Who'd you think I was that first night we met?"
"The night you attacked me, you mean? I thought you were a vampire."
"A vampire?" His look was one of genuine confusion. "Vampires aren't real. ~ Angela B. Wade

Across generations, wariness of new individuals, groups, and ideas was built into the circuits of the human brain's alarm response because those who had this wariness were more likely to survive to reproduce. It was just safer to assume danger- and expect the worst- than to count on the kindness of strangers. ~ Bruce D. Perry

Even her fear, confusion and wariness does it for me.
God, I'm a sick little bastard. ~ V. Theia

Both Jefferson and Adams were wary of priests in all forms, as they both knew theocracies are enemies of democracy. Jefferson pointed out that the Indians shared their wariness: ~ Thom Hartmann

Wai Lin is the first Bond Girl who is on a par with Bond, someone who can match up with him mentally and physically. From the moment our characters see each other, there is a wariness and a recognition that this person is not who she or he seems to be. ~ Michelle Yeoh

n sum, let us enter a plea for clinical clinicians who can distinguish unconscious depression from conscious despair, paranoia from adaptive wariness, and who can tell the difference between a sick man and a sick nation. ~ William H. Grier

(An unhappy childhood was not) an unsuitable preparation for my future, in that it demanded a constant wariness, the habit of observation, and the attendance on moods and tempers; the noting of discrepancies between speech and action; a certain reserve of demeanour; and automatic suspicion of sudden favours. ~ Rudyard Kipling

Tavish could tell he was being sized up. And by the narrowing of Joseph's eyes, he recognized Tavish's intent as well. They stood, eyeing one another for several long and silent moments. Tavish had not intended to pursue Katie in the least. Now, it seemed, he had a rival. Joseph Archer was infuriatingly difficult to read. Was it confidence that kept him so at ease? Joseph did have the advantage. Katie lived in his house. He could see her, talk to her every day. Joseph was wealthy, with the air of class and money about him. Tavish had none of those things. And though Katie had warmed to him a bit, he didn't yet feel she'd entirely shed her wariness of him. ~ Sarah M. Eden