Raymond Chandler wasn’t just a writer—he was a verbal bruiser, a literary jazz musician with a cigarette in one hand and a typewriter in the other. He didn't invent noir, but he sure as hell defined it. With Philip Marlowe at the center of his stories, Chandler built a world where the drinks were stiff, the dames dangerous, and the metaphors came hard and fast.
What makes Chandler so irresistible—besides the murders, the wisecracks, and the always-suspect heiresses—is how he turned every line into a miniature slap across the face.
So, let's dive deep into the snappy, smoky world he created, through a curated collection of his sharpest, strangest, and most soulful quotes—all in their full, context-riddled glory.
The Women: Blonde, Beautiful, and Loaded with Trouble
“From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.”
— The High Window (1942)
There’s a whole thesis on male disillusionment in just that one line. Chandler’s women—typically blondes with blood-red lips and a few too many secrets—aren’t what they appear. Neither is anything else in his world.
“It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.”
— Farewell, My Lovely (1940)
“She lowered her lashes until they almost cuddled her cheeks and slowly raised them again, like a theatre curtain. I was to get to know that trick. That was supposed to make me roll over on my back with all four paws in the air.”
— The Little Sister (1949)
Chandler wasn’t sentimental about romance. He was clinical about seduction—he saw through it, even as Marlowe got caught in it. These women didn’t flirt; they performed.
“She bent over me again. Blood began to move around in me, like a prospective tenant looking over a house.”
— The Big Sleep (1939)
There it is again—desire, but described with just enough distance to let you know it's dangerous. In Chandler’s world, love doesn’t soften the edges; it sharpens them.
The Men: Tired, Tough, and Running on Coffee and Regret
“I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.”
— Farewell, My Lovely (1940)
Philip Marlowe: the archetypal private eye who always seems to be one step behind the scheme and five minutes ahead of the knockout punch. He’s not a hero, but he’s the only honest man in the room—and he's barely hanging on.
“I don't mind your showing me your legs. They're very swell legs and it's a pleasure to make their acquaintance. I don't mind if you don't like my manners. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter nights.”
— The Big Sleep (1939)
It’s charming and sad all at once—Marlowe always says just enough to cut both ways.
The City: L.A., Where the Heat Makes You Crazy and the Rich Make You Dead
“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.”
— Red Wind (1938)
That’s not just a weather report. That’s a spell being cast. Chandler’s L.A. is sweaty, sexy, and on the edge of a breakdown. The Santa Anas don’t just blow through town—they push people over the line.
The Similes: Absurd, Hilarious, and Weirdly Accurate
“He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake.”
— Farewell, My Lovely (1940)
“Tall, aren't you?" she said.
"I didn't mean to be."
Her eyes rounded. She was puzzled. She was thinking. I could see, even on that short acquaintance, that thinking was always going to be a bother to her.”
— The Big Sleep (1939)
The Alcohol: Friend, Foe, and Metaphor for Everything
“A man who drinks too much on occasion is still the same man as he was sober. An alcoholic, a real alcoholic, is not the same man at all. You can't predict anything about him for sure except that he will be someone you never met before.”
— The Long Goodbye (1953)
“Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third is routine. After that you take the girl's clothes off.”
— The Long Goodbye (1953)
The Goodbye: Always Inevitable
“The French have a phrase for it. The bastards have a phrase for everything and they are always right. To say goodbye is to die a little.”
— The Long Goodbye (1953)
Even the toughest guys have to walk away. And when they do, they know what it costs.
Final Smoke
Raymond Chandler’s writing doesn’t age. It marinates. His lines are so sharp you feel like you need a bandage after reading them. Whether he was cracking wise, dissecting society, or describing a woman like she was a trap wrapped in perfume, Chandler always knew what to say.
So the next time you're feeling too comfortable, too optimistic, too sober, pick up a Chandler novel. Because in his world, every drink burns, every goodbye stings, and nobody—nobody—walks away clean.
Got a favorite Chandler line that makes you laugh, wince, or pour yourself a drink?
