Mae West was a force to be reckoned with. She was an actress, singer, playwright, and screenwriter who always spoke her mind. Her quotes are as timeless as she is. They are full of wisdom, sass, and wit. If you want to be unforgettable, you need to start thinking like Mae West.
About Mae West
Mae West (1893-1980) was an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter known for her bold and controversial performances in the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she began her career in vaudeville and burlesque before moving on to the Broadway stage. She wrote and starred in several of her own plays, including “Sex” and “The Drag,” which were considered scandalous at the time due to their frank depiction of sexuality. In the 1930s, West transitioned to Hollywood and starred in several films, including “She Done Him Wrong” and “I’m No Angel,” which made her one of the biggest box office draws of the decade. Despite her success, West faced censorship and backlash for her controversial material, but she remained a popular and influential figure in entertainment. She continued to act and write throughout her life, and is still remembered as a trailblazer for her bold and unapologetic performances.
In addition to her acting, West was also well known for her witty one-liners and sharp quips. Her quotes have become iconic, as they have been widely quoted by entertainers, politicians, and everyday people alike. Her words still resonate today, offering wisdom and inspiration that is both timeless and timely. Some of her most famous quotes include:
Mae West Quotes
- “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West
- “Sex is emotion in motion.” – Mae West
- “A hard man is good to find.” – Mae West
- “Sex is an emotion in motion.” – Mae West
- “When in doubt, take a bath…” – Mae West
- “A man’s kiss is his signature.” – Mae West
- “I’ve been things and seen places.” – Mae West
- “He who hesitates is a damned fool.” – Mae West
- “It takes two to get one in trouble.” – Mae West
- “I’ve been in more laps than a napkin.” – Mae West
- “To err is human, but it feels divine.” – Mae West
- “Brains are an asset, if you hide them.” – Mae West
- “I’m single because I was born that way.” – Mae West
- “I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.” – Mae West
- “Too much of a good thing can be taxing.” – Mae West
- “You are never too old to become younger!” – Mae West
- “Keep a diary and one day it’ll keep you.” – Mae West
- “Look your best – who said love is blind?” – Mae West
- “I speak two languages, Body and English.” – Mae West
- “The curve is more powerful than the sword.” – Mae West
- “One more drink and I’ll be under the host.” – Mae West
- “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” – Mae West
- “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.” – Mae West
- “The best way to hold a man is in your arms.” – Mae West
- “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.” – Mae West
- “I like restraint, if it doesn’t go too far.” – Mae West
- “When women go wrong, men go right after them.” – Mae West
- “The score never interested me, only the game.” – Mae West
- “A man in the house is worth two in the street.” – Mae West
- “It is better to be looked over than overlooked.” – Mae West
- “I didn’t discover curves; I only uncovered them.” – Mae West
- “It’s hard to be funny when you have to be clean.” – Mae West
- “I’m a woman of very few words, but lots of action.” – Mae West
- “Love isn’t an emotion or an instinct – it’s an art.” – Mae West
- “I only like two kinds of men, domestic and imported.” – Mae West
- “I never loved another person the way I loved myself.” – Mae West
- “An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.” – Mae West
- “I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it.” – Mae West
- “I only have ‘yes’ men around me. Who needs ‘no’ men?” – Mae West
- “Give a man a free hand and he’ll run it all over you.” – Mae West
- “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” – Mae West
- “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and rich is better.” – Mae West
- “Love conquers all things except poverty and toothache.” – Mae West
- “I always say, keep a diary and someday it’ll keep you.” – Mae West
- “Goodness had nothing to do with it.” – Mae West, She Done Him Wrong
- “A dame that knows the ropes isn’t likely to get tied up.” – Mae West
- “His mother should have thrown him out and kept the stork.” – Mae West
- “Virtue has its own reward, but no sale at the box office.” – Mae West
- “Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.” – Mae West
- “When I’m good, I’m very good. But when I’m bad I’m better.” – Mae West
- “Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.” – Mae West
- “Personally, I like two types of men – domestic and foreign.” – Mae West
- “There are no good girls gone wrong – just bad girls found out.” – Mae West
- “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.” – Mae West
- “Men are all alike – except the one you’ve met who’s different.” – Mae West
- “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” – Mae West
- “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.” – Mae West
- “Men are my hobby, if I ever got married I’d have to give it up.” – Mae West
- “He’s the kind of man a woman would have to marry to get rid of.” – Mae West
- “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.” – Mae West
- “Gentlemen prefer blondes, but who says blondes prefer gentlemen?” – Mae West
- “It’s not the men in my life that count, it’s the life in my men.” – Mae West
- “When I’m good I’m very, very good, but when I’m bad, I’m better.” – Mae West
- “Personality is the most important thing to an actress’s success.” – Mae West
- “I’m no model lady. A model’s just an imitation of the real thing.” – Mae West
- “What’s the good of resisting temptation? There’ll always be more.” – Mae West
- “I’m no model lady. A model’s just an imitation of the real thing.” – Mae West
- “Every man I meet wants to protect me. I can’t figure out what from.” – Mae West
- “Women like a man with a past, but they prefer a man with a present.” – Mae West
- “I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.” – Mae West
- “Don’t marry a man to reform him – that’s what reform schools are for.” – Mae West
- “Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home, I’m tired.” – Mae West
- “You can do what you want, but saving love doesn’t bring any interest.” – Mae West
- “I’ll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.” – Mae West
- “Ladies who play with fire must remember that smoke gets in their eyes.” – Mae West
- “No one can have everything, so you have to try for what you want most.” – Mae West
- “Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution.” – Mae West
- “Opportunity knocks for every man, but you have to give a woman a ring.” – Mae West
- “Whenever I’m caught between two evils, I take the one I’ve never tried.” – Mae West
- “Cultivate your curves – they may be dangerous but they won’t be avoided.” – Mae West
- “She’s the kind of girl who climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong.” – Mae West
- “Save a boyfriend for a rainy day – and another, in case it doesn’t rain.” – Mae West
- “Any time you got nothing to do – and lots of time to do it – come on up.” – Mae West
- “Don’t cry for a man who’s left you–the next one may fall for your smile.” – Mae West
- “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds!’ ‘Goodness had nothing to do with it’.” – Mae West
- “A woman in love can’t be reasonable – or she probably wouldn’t be in love.” – Mae West
- “I believe that it’s better to be looked over than it is to be overlooked.” – Mae West
- “Say what you want about long dresses, but they cover a multitude of shins.” – Mae West
- “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.” – Mae West, ‘Wit & Wisdom of Mae West’
- “Women with pasts interest men because they hope history will repeat itself.” – Mae West
- “If I can’t a man with a million dollars, I’ll a million men with one dollar.” – Mae West
- “If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would search for the double meaning.” – Mae West
- “A me piacciono solo due tipi di uomini: gli stranieri e quelli del mio Paese.” – Mae West
- “All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.” – Mae West
- “I enjoyed the courtroom as just another stage but not so amusing as Broadway.” – Mae West
- “I see you’re a man with ideals. I better be going before you’ve still got them.” – Mae West
- “Don’t keep a man guessing too long – he’s sure to find the answer somewhere else” – Mae West
- “It’s all right for a perfect stranger to kiss your hand as long as he’s perfect.” – Mae West
- “Getting married is like trading in the adoration of many for the sarcasm of one.” – Mae West
- “If a little is great, and a lot is better, then way too much is just about right!” – Mae West
- “Don’t keep a man guessing too long – he’s sure to find the answer somewhere else.” – Mae West
- “A man in the house is worth two on the street.” – Mae West, ‘Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It’
- “I have found men who didn’t know how to kiss. I’ve always found time to teach them.” – Mae West
- “I only read biographies, metaphysics and psychology. I can dream up my own fiction.” – Mae West
- “It’s not what I do, but the way I do it. It’s not what I say, but the way I say it.” – Mae West
- “A man has one hundred dollars and you leave him with two dollars, that’s subtraction.” – Mae West
- “When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before.” – Mae West
- “A man can be short and dumpy and getting bald but if he has fire, women will like him.” – Mae West
- “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” – Mae West
- “I wrote the story myself. It’s about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.” – Mae West
- “I like a man who’s good, but not too good – for the good die young, and I hate a dead one.” – Mae West
- “It ain’t no sin if you crack a few laws now and then, just so long as you don’t break any.” – Mae West
- “Sex with love is the greatest thing in life. But sex without love — that’s not so bad either.” – Mae West
- “Good sex is like good bridge. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand.” – Mae West
- “JUDGE: Are you trying to show contempt for this court? MAE WEST: I was doin’ my best to hide it.” – Mae West
- “I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.” – Mae West
- “One and one is two, and two and two is four, and five will get you ten if you know how to work it.” – Mae West
- “Love is like a booger, you pick and pick at it. Then when you get it you wonder how to get rid of it.” – mae west
- “You may admire a girl’s curves on the first introduction, but the second meeting shows up new angles.” – Mae West
- “All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.” – Mae West, Wit & Wisdom of Mae West
- “Love thy neighbor – and if he happens to be tall, debonair and devastating, it will be that much easier.” – Mae West
- “Woman: You certainly know the way to a man’s heart. Mae West: Funny, too, ’cause I don’t know how to cook.” – Mae West
- “Marriage is a fine institution, but I’m not ready for an institution.” – Mae West, The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
- “Everyone has the right to run his own life- even if you’re heading for a crash. What I’m against is blind flying.” – Mae West
- “It isn’t what I do, but how I do it. It isn’t what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it.” – Mae West
- “Good women are no fun… The only good woman I can recall in history was Betsy Ross. And all she ever made was a flag.” – Mae West
- “I’ve no time for broads who want to rule the world alone. Without men, who’d do up the zipper on the back of your dress? ” – Mae West
- “Personality is the glitter that sends your little gleam across the footlights and the orchestra pit into that big black space where the audience is.” – Mae West
- “Right now I think censorship is necessary; the things they’re doing and saying in films right now just shouldn’t be allowed. There’s no dignity anymore and I think that’s very important.” – Mae West
- “I saw what a mess a lot of people could make of their lives when they’re smitten. Some of them go temporarily insane. They find a person who they think holds the key to their happiness-the only key to their happiness… My work has always been my greatest happiness” – Mae West
- “Girls who responded to the advertisement and then were willing to put themselves under Fong’s wing, so to speak, till they could be inspected by the theatrical agent’ were of a type that had no important family ties. (…) Each had a story behind her, but it was the story of the hundreds, the thousands. It was the story of a little ambition and a great hope; of immense trust and a few brains; of false pride and tragic courage. They were but units in the great mass of humanity which seem destined to struggle vainly for any realization of happiness and who go under in the backwash of the tide of living.” – Mae West, ‘She Done Him Wrong’
Wrapping Up
Mae West was a larger-than-life figure who had an undeniable influence on comedy, culture, and even language. She was known for her quick wit and risqué sense of humor which still resonates today. Her words are wise, funny, and inspiring, and they will continue to entertain us for years to come. Thanks for the laughs, Mae!
