Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

I don’t consider myself a stand-up comedian. I consider myself a performer; a comic as opposed to stand-up comedian. Stand-up comedians stand there and do their bits; I break every rule in creation. If there’s a rule that can be broken in stand-up, I’ll do it.

The business of the dramatist is to keep himself out of sight, and to let nothing appear but his characters. As soon as he attracts notice to his personal feelings, the illusion is broken.

Nothing is so galling to a people not broken in from birth as a paternal, or, in other words, a meddling government, a government which tells them what to read, and say, and eat, and drink and wear

One broken hind leg,” he went on. “Three broken ribs, one at least of which has pierced the lungs. He has lost nearly all the blood in his body. There is a large likelihood of internal injuries. He must have been jumped upon. To say nothing of three bullet holes clear through him. One chance in a thousand is really optimistic. He hasn’t a chance in ten thousand.

In Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool there are white gangs that share the same backgrounds – they come from broken homes, completely dysfunctional, mums for the most part unable to cope, the fathers of these kids completely not in the scene.

Gang members have invariably grown up in broken, chaotic homes, often experiencing domestic violence; they have truanted from school and many have been formally excluded; and they live in neighbourhoods where worklessness, addiction and crime are rife.

If there is gossip to be garnered, garner it. If there are new dress styles to be imitated, imitate them. If there are hearts to be broken, break them. That’s my girls.

In Mexico we have a trick – add a crystal of salt to the kettle and the tea tastes better, almost English. But after four pots, your kettle’s broken.

Even a broke clock is right twice a day.

We work with broken families and broken people who’ve lost hope and are helpless.

The path of social advancement is, and must be, strewn with broken friendships.

The truth is, sometimes too much can happen in a relationship, and then there’s nothing anyone can do or say. It’s broken.

We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.

The flesh was falling from the bones of those I loved, and all the mountain flowers were crushed and broken.

There are a lot of myths about my injuries. They say I have broken every bone in my body. Not true. But I have broken 35 bones. I had surgery 14 times to pin and plate. I shattered my pelvis. I forget all of the things that have broke.

We are all broken—that’s how the light gets in.

We’re stronger in the places that we’ve been broken.

I’m not brave any more darling. I’m all broken. They’ve broken me.

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.

I am like a broken puppet whose eyes have fallen inside.

I think the system is broken; most people think that it’s broken. And we think that what we’re going to do is invigorate the political system and allow for this country to be turned around.

Better that one heart be broken a thousand times in the retelling, he has decided, if it means that a thousand other hearts need not be broken at all.

What’s the point of both of us being broken-hearted? I pray it’s never too late

We’re not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again.

I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.

Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.

A civil servant is sometimes like a broken cannon – it won’t work and you can’t fire it.

I’d rather have money and be broken-hearted than be broke and broken-hearted.

Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart is broken.

They broke it to me gently. The manager came up to me before a game and told me they didn’t allow visitors in the clubhouse.

You know we poor artists have to show ourselves in society from time to time, just to remind the public that we are not savages. With an evening coat and a white tie, as you told me once, anybody, even a stock-broker, can gain a reputation for being civilized.

It’s been an adventure. We took some casualties over the years. Things got broken. Things got lost. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world

The reason for my starting a diary is that I have no real friends

I never thought I’d have children; I never thought I’d be in love, I never thought I’d meet the right person. Having come from a broken home – you kind of accept that certain things feel like a fairy tale, and you just don’t look for them.

When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken.

As soon as you stop wanting something, you get it

I don’t do Shakespeare. I don’t talk in that kind of broken English.

Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done.

Where one step broken, the great scale’s destroyed

The most useful pot is the pot which has been broken

Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.

It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.