John Edensor Littlewood

It was Mr. Littlewood (I believe) who remarked that "every positive integer was one of his personal friends."

— John Edensor Littlewood

A good mathematical joke is better, and better mathematics, than a dozen mediocre papers.

— John Edensor Littlewood

'The surprising thing about this paper is that a man who could write it--would.'

— John Edensor Littlewood

I read in the proof-sheets of Hardy on Ramanujan: 'As someone said, each of the positive integers was one of his personal friends.' My reaction was, 'I wonder who said that; I wish I had.' In the next proof-sheets I read (what now stands): 'It was Littlewood who said...' (What had happened was that Hardy had received the remark in silence and with a poker face, and I wrote it off as a dud....)

— John Edensor Littlewood

I recall once saying that when I had given the same lecture several times I couldn't help feeling that they really ought to know it by now.

— John Edensor Littlewood