Quotable quotes

Thought-provoking snippets from the OED quotation files:

domestic bliss...

1926 R. Macaulay Lett. to Sister, No longer..does the husband have to sit in the evenings and listen to inanities from his wife..; he and she can now both sit in silence, with the phones on their ears.

...an invitation to temperance...

1868 Sci. Amer., Wines called ‘champagnes’ are, to our certain knowledge, prepared of honey, chalk, pigeon dung, and even worse materials.

...and the weaker (or lazier?) sex...

1863 V. Penny Employments of Women, The young man said a paper marbler in Philadelphia used to employ some women to assist him, but he had to mix their paints.