Understatement/Quotes

"The war has developed, not necessarily to Japan's advantage. ... In the event of a sustained atomic bombing, the protection of the Japanese nation would be difficult."

- Emperor Hirohito's 'Jewel Voice Broadcast', August 1945

"Major-General Robert H Soule, US Army: How are the Glosters doing?

Brigadier Thomas Brodie, British Army: A bit sticky, things are pretty sticky down there.

(Said whilst 650 British soldiers from the 1st Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment were deployed on a crossing on the Imjin River during the Korean war and fighting over 10,000 Chinese troops.)"

"Xykon: What happened?

Redcloak: Yeah, uh we had a small problem with the Gate.

Xykon: The forest is on fire.

Redcloak: I just said we had a small problem! Geez!

Order of the Stick"

"Tom Servo: You know, there are certain flaws in this movie.

Mystery Science Theater 3000"

""To call it an understatement would be an understatement.""

- Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell

"[A] District Attorney in Texas is on trial for building himself a sweet rig on the county dime. The machine in question sports "two hard drives, seven fans, high-end video and audio cards, a wireless Internet connection and cables that glow under ultraviolet light."... "I would not configure a backup computer in that way," says Mr. Gregg, FBI senior forensic examiner and reigning Understatement King."

- Tycho, commentary on The Case of Texas vs. KryoLord

"Not even Spock had stayed aboard for that -- he found breathing vacuum for any length of time to be aesthetically unpleasent."

- Spock's World, Diane Duane

"The Joker is a tricky foe. His jokes are never funny. Sometimes they hurt people."

- I Am Batman, Catherine Hapka

"Ford: I rescued you from the Earth.

Arthur: And what's happened to the Earth?

Ford: It's been demolished.

Arthur: Has it.

Ford: Yes. It just boiled away into space.

Arthur: Look, I'm a bit upset about that."

- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series

"I am supposed to call for help, if I run into trouble I can't handle on my own.

Being captured by the Volturi and likely to be Chelseaed at any moment seemed like it might be that sort of trouble."

- Elspeth, Luminosity

"Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I do say no more than 10 to 20 million killed, tops."

- General Buck Turgidson, Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

"Enemy Agent: You killed two of my men

Hetty: It was an overreaction

NCISLA"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress."

- British Airways pilot, after flying through a cloud of volanic ash.

"Adolf Hitler was a very naughty man."

- Educational Video, South Park

"Collecting customs duties in America had not been one of Britain's glorious successes in the eighteenth century

Robert Middlekauf, The Glorious Cause: the American Revolution 1763-1789"