Is there somebody who would survive and thrive in the early 20th century in Birmingham better than Thomas Shelby?
I wouldn’t say so.
This is a complex character from whom we can learn many valuable life lessons. We cannot say that each and every one of his doings were right, but we have grown to love him so much that we justify every of his doings. The good and the bad.
Let’s see what this interesting businessman has in mind when it comes to many topics that you’ll see below! Enjoy this ultimate collection of Thomas Shelby Quotes!
10 Best Thomas Shelby Quotes From Peaky Blinders
1. “You have to get what you want your own way.” — Tommy Shelby
2. “When you plan something well there’s no need to rush.” — Tommy Shelby
3. “I’m not a traitor to my class. I am just an extreme example of what a working man can achieve.” — Tommy Shelby
4. “Whiskey is good proofing water. It tells you who’s real and who isn’t.” — Tommy Shelby
5. “Pain changes people. It makes them trustless. Overthink more, and shut people out.” — Tommy Shelby
6. “A man needs to prove he is better than me, rather than show me his birth certificate.” — Tommy Shelby
7. “If you apologize once, you do it again and again and again. Like taking bricks out of the wall of your f*cking house.” — Tommy Shelby
8. “In pubs sometimes people say things and sometimes it’s the whisky talking. It’s hard to tell which is which.” — Tommy Shelby
9. “I don’t pay for suits. My suits are on the house or the house burns down.” — Tommy Shelby
10. “Now, why would I shake the hand of a man, who didn’t even fight for his country?” — Tommy Shelby
10 Motivational Thomas Shelby Quotes
1. “Those of you who are last will soon be first. And those of you who are downtrodden will rise up.” — Tommy Shelby
2. “I can f*cking be scared and carry on.” — Tommy Shelby
3. “You strike when your enemy is weak.” — Tommy Shelby
4. “I can charm dogs. Gypsy witchcraft. And those I can’t charm, I can kill with my own hands.” — Tommy Shelby
5. “Fortune drops something valuable into your lap, you don’t just dump it on the bank of the cut.” — Tommy Shelby
6. “I have made arrangements with men I trust. If I should die, then you will die, know that.” — Tommy Shelby
7. “There is no rest for me in this world. Perhaps in the next.” — Tommy Shelby
8. “It’s not a good idea to look at Tommy Shelby the wrong way.” — Tommy Shelby
9. “I know that you all want me to say that I’ll change, that this f*cking business will change, but I’ve learnt something in the last few days. Those bastards. Those bastards are worse than us. Politicians, f*cking judges, lords, and ladies. They’re worse than us, and they will never admit us to their palaces, no matter how legitimate we become because of who we are.” — Tommy Shelby
10. “If I ask about it, I know about it, so don’t lie about it.” — Tommy Shelby
See also: 130 Daily Affirmations For Men To Bring Growth & Success
15 Thomas Shelby Quotes About Life
1. “Lies travel faster than the truth.” — Tommy Shelby
2. “Conviction introduces emotion, which is the enemy of oratory.” — Tommy Shelby
3. “The only way to guarantee peace is by making the prospect of war seem hopeless.” — Tommy Shelby
4. “A good man needs to hold out sometimes.” — Tommy Shelby
5. “You don’t parley when you’re on the back foot.” — Tommy Shelby
6. “Get yourself a decent haircut, man. We’re going to the races.” — Tommy Shelby
7. “Do I look like a man who wants a simple life?” — Tommy Shelby
8. “Sometimes death is a kindness.” — Tommy Shelby
9. “The one minute. The soldier’s minute. In a battle, that’s all you get. One minute of everything at once. And anything before is nothing. Everything after, nothing. Nothing in comparison to that one minute.” — Tommy Shelby
10. “Drink the f*cking wine and smile, that’s what I’m doing.” — Tommy Shelby
11. “I am my own revolution.” — Tommy Shelby
12. “A good man needs to hold out sometimes.” – Tommy Shelby
13. “No matter what you do, some people will never like you.” — Tommy Shelby
14. “Don’t let the same dog bite you twice.” — Tommy Shelby
15. “Sometimes death is a kindness.” — Tommy Shelby
11 Thomas Shelby Quotes About Love
1. “The one who keeps causing you pain can never be your peace.” — Tommy Shelby
2. “You can change what you do, but you can’t change what you want.” — Tommy Shelby
3. “I imagine being shot by a woman hurts the same as being shot by a man. Just a bit more shameful.” — Tommy Shelby
4. “You are still the one that I love, the only one I dream of.” — Tommy Shelby
5. “I learnt long ago to hate my enemies, but I’ve never loved one before.” — Tommy Shelby
6. “Oh, and there’s a woman. Yeah. A woman I love—and I got close. I nearly got f*cking everything!” — Tommy Shelby
7. “You once said to me, that men like us can never be loved. She loves me, she told me—she loves me.” — Tommy Shelby
8. “A few days without you and I completely lost my mind.” — Tommy Shelby
9. “We used to come here, she’d wait for hours for me, when I couldn’t make it. And I’d wait for her if her family kept her in.” — Tommy Shelby
10. “A real man chooses to honour, love, respect, adore, and be faithful to one woman.” — Tommy Shelby
11. Grace: “I warn you, I’ll break your heart.”
Tommy: “Already broken.” — Tommy Shelby
See also: 130 Self-Love Affirmations To Help You Embrace Yourself
20 Philosophical And Wise Thomas Shelby Quotes
1. “Five for peace, two for truce, one abstention. Let’s get on with the war.” — Tommy Shelby
2. “If you make the wrong choice you won’t see 11:44.” — Tommy Shelby
3. “Good taste is for people who can’t afford sapphires.” — Tommy Shelby
4. “In France, I got used to seeing men die. I never got used to seeing horses die.” — Tommy Shelby
5. “Today, it will be me dead or you. But whoever it is, he’ll wake up in hell tomorrow.” — Tommy Shelby
6. “You know, gentlemen, there is hell, and there is another place below hell.” — Tommy Shelby
7. “Everyone’s a wh*re, Grace. We just sell different parts of ourselves.” — Tommy Shelby
8. “She’s in the past. The past is not my concern. The future is no longer my concern, either.” — Tommy Shelby
9. “All religion is a foolish answer to a foolish question.” — Tommy Shelby
10. “If you’re soft on rebellion, it’ll grow.” — Tommy Shelby
11. “Whiskey is just fuel for the loud engines inside your head.”
12. “For those who make the rules, there are no rules.” — Tommy Shelby
13. “People are loyal to those who pay their wages.” — Tommy Shelby
14. “Please don’t listen to my sister’s opinions of me. They are always hopeful. Therefore they are always wrong.” — Tommy Shelby
15. “For those who make the rules, there are no rules.” — Tommy Shelby
16. “People thinking I’m going to fall, they start behaving in a different way around you.” — Tommy Shelby
17. “There’s a part of me that is unfamiliar to myself. And I keep finding myself there.” — Tommy Shelby
18. “I just put a bullet in his head—he looked at me the wrong way.” — Tommy Shelby
19. It’s business, Grace. And bad, bad business it is all around. And I’m scared, Grace. I’m scared for you. I’m scared for the baby. And this is how I am when I’m scared. It is unfamiliar to you but not to me. I can f*cking be scared and carry on. And it’s not pleasant to look at and no joy to be around.” — Tommy Shelby
20. “These days, people tell me things without even speaking.” — Tommy Shelby
24 Other Interesting Quotes From Peaky Blinders
1. “You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you take.” — Lizzie Shelby
2. “Intelligence is a very valuable thing, innit, my friend. And usually, it comes far too f*cking late.” — Alfie Solomons
3. “An agreement is not the same thing as an assurance.” — Chester Campbell
4. “In all the world the only thing that interests me is the truth.” — Chester Campbell
5. “Ambition for respectability doesn’t make you a saint.” — Father John Hughes
6. “When there are no rules, women take charge.” — Tatiana Petrovna
7. “To make sure your dog obeys you, you have to show it the stick once in a while.” — Chester Campbell
8. “This place is under new management, by order of the peaky blinders.” — Arthur Shelby
9. “In the end, it’s God who pulls that f*cking trigger anyway. We don’t get to decide who lives and who dies, Finn. Not us. You just have to flick a switch.” — Arthur Shelby
10. “I don’t need a knife to stop me telling secrets given in confidence. It is a matter of honor.” — Esme Shelby
11. “Anyway, we’re Peaky Blinders. We’re not scared of coppers. If they come for us, we’ll cut them a smile each.” — John Shelby
12. “Aunt Pol, when I was Michael’s age I’d killed a hundred men and seen a thousand die. If you want to scare that kid away forever, carry on how you’re going. If you want him to stay, let him come.” — John Shelby
13. “Sometimes the women have to take over. Like in the war.” — Aunt Polly
14. “Brave is going where no man has gone before.” — Aunt Polly
15. “You have your mother’s common sense but your father’s devilment. I see them fighting. Let your mother win.” — Aunt Polly
16. “We’ve kept each other alive. But I didn’t just put my head through that window. I climbed through it. First I thought it was madness, but no. When you’ve put your head out of that window, you can do anything you want. Because there are no rules. Because there are no risks.” — Aunt Polly
17. “Men don’t have the strategic intelligence to conduct a war between families. Men are less good at keeping secrets out of their lies.” — Aunt Polly
18. “These bastards only understand one language.” — Alfie Solomons
19. . “You’ve told me about her, like a gentleman, now kindly behave like a gangster again.” — May Carleton
20. “There’s only one thing that can blind a man as smart as you, Tommy. Love.” — Aunt Polly
21. “Men like us, Mr. Shelby, will always be alone. And what love we get, we will have to pay for.”— Chester Campbell
22. . “When you’re dead already, you’re free.” — Aunt Polly
23. “Instinct’s a funny thing.” — Aunt Polly
24. “Never give power to the big man.” — Alfie Solomons
See also: 100 Oscar Wilde Quotes For Every Point Of Your Life
Final Word
I hope that you have managed to feel and understand the atmosphere of this really complex character from the Peaky Blinders, Thomas Shelby. And that you have enjoyed reading this ultimate collection of Thomas Shelby quotes!
If you haven’t watched the TV Show Peaky Blinders, I think this is a great way to get motivated to watch it. I know you’ll love it!
Read next: Andrew Tate Quotes That Will Spark Your Inner Winner
