41 Quotes About Slander and Gossip

No good comes from slander and gossip. These types of actions can lead to hard feelings. Here is a look at some of the most influential quotes about slander and gossip that will make an impression.

“A rumor is a social cancer: it is difficult to contain and it rots the brains of the masses. However, the real danger is that so many people find rumors enjoyable.”

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”

“Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.”

“Count not him among your friends who will retail your privacies to the world.”

“Do not repeat anything you will not sign your name to.”

“Don’t waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.”

“Gossip is just a tool to distract people who have nothing better to do from feeling jealous of those few of us still remaining with noble hearts.”

“Gossip is saying behind their back what you would not say to their face. Flattery is saying to their face what you would not say behind their back.”

“Gossip is when you have a malice of intent or mindless, third-party conversation to someone about someone, something you haven’t said to that someone.”

“Gossip needn’t be false to be evil – there’s a lot of truth that shouldn’t be passed around.”

“Gossiping and lying go hand in hand.”

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”

“How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.”

“I resolve to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth; but rather by some means excuse the faults I hear charged upon others, and upon proper occasions speak all the good I know of everybody.”

“If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.”

“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody come sit next to me.”

“Insecure people only eclipse your sun because they’re jealous of your daylight and tired of their dark, starless nights.”

“Isn’t it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?”

“It is always assumed by the empty-headed, who chatter about themselves for want of something better, that people who do not discuss their affairs openly must have something to hide.”

“Loose tongues are worse than wicked hands.”

“Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that.”

“No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues.”

“Often those that criticize others reveal what he himself lacks.”

“People love gossip. It’s the biggest thing that keeps the entertainment industry going.”

“People will question all the good things they hear about you but believe all the bad without a second thought.”

“Popular culture is a place where pity is called compassion, flattery is called love, propaganda is called knowledge, tension is called peace, gossip is called news, and auto-tune is called singing.”

“Rumor travels faster, but it don’t stay put as long as truth.”

“Some say our national pastime is baseball. Not me. It’s gossip.”

“Someone who smiles too much with you can sometime frown too much with you at your back.”

“Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.”

“The key to good eavesdropping is not getting caught.”

“The stupidity of gossips is that they become frightened when they see your face, and a little word from your mouth makes them vibrate like an electrocuted criminal.”

“The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business.”

“There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly becomes any of us to talk about the rest of us.”

“They have the unique ability to listen to one story and understand another.”

“Watch out for the joy-stealers: gossip, criticism, complaining, faultfinding, and a negative, judgmental attitude.”

“What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth.”

“Word spread because word will spread. Stories and secrets fight, stories win, shed new secrets, which new stories fight, and on.”

“Words have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles.”

“Words spoken can never be recalled.”

“Your dignity can be mocked, abused, compromised, toyed with, lowered and even badmouthed, but it can never be taken from you. You have the power today to reset your boundaries, restore your image, start fresh with renewed values and rebuild what has happened to you in the past.”

Defamation and gossip can create a liability for organizations where this type of behavior may run rampart.