I used to be a pretentious little jerk, running around saying 'I'm going to be an awktor.'

When I found out that I had won the MacArthur Fellowship, I had been a professor at Carnegie Mellon for a week. I probably shouldn't be saying this on TV, but I stopped worrying about tenure.

I'm very confident. Even when I read people saying horrible stuff about my weight.

I was never growing up saying, 'Dude, I want to sing in a band.'

I alienated the automotive industry by saying that cars should be lightweight and compact.

When I left drama school, saying you were going to the RSC made you a laughing stock.

A young female essayist saying they're influenced by Joan Didion is like a young female singer-songwriter saying they're influenced by Joni Mitchell.

Honestly, I don't read the press. I don't know what they're saying.

Saying no frees you up to say yes when it matters most.

I'm just saying that being in this business is not easy, and it's definitely not for everybody.

Publix operates in every county in Florida, and you get a county or municipality saying we don't want you putting your groceries in plastic bags, well, that's a problem.

Endorsing unconventional monetary policies unquestioningly is tantamount to saying that it is acceptable to distort asset prices if there are other domestic constraints on growth.

Thought is creating divisions out of itself and then saying that they are there naturally.

I never understood bands saying Nirvana had anything to do with derailing their career. Maybe those bands didn't have the goods.

Literally' - I'm not having it; people can't go around saying 'literally.' Otherwise, what's literal? There's not another word for literally: if it isn't figurative or metaphorical, what is it? It's literal: there's no substitute.

Scientifically speaking, if I say something, or it gets misquoted, or people put a spin on it... I mean, are you interested, really, in what people are saying?

I am saying that currency trading is unnecessary, unproductive, and immoral. It should be stopped. It should be made illegal.

If Democrats oppose a border wall, they're just saying they want continued, unendingly illegal immigration.

'Singaporeans first' is different from saying 'Singaporeans only.'

For artists, we're always looking for approval. We're putting our artwork out there and saying, 'What do you think?'