The new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations will be published on September 12, one day after the first anniversary of the event that provides some of the book's most sober and up-to-the-minute thoughts.

George Bush is included in the 5,000 entries for saying it is time "for us to win the first war of the 21st century", and Tony Blair is there with him, saying: "We ... stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends."

The dictionary was last published in 1991 and its editor, Elizabeth Knowles, said she was looking for the recognition factor, something that was half-remembered and likely to be looked up.

"It's terribly tempting to think quotations were better in the good old days but I don't believe it," she said. "When you look back to the great quotations of the past, you are seeing those which have time to give a demonstration of their lasting qualities. The more ephemeral material has been sifted away."

The model Kate Moss ("It's a sin to be tired") and actor Ursula Andress (who said of the swimsuit she wore in the film Dr No: "This bikini made me a success") could be among early dropouts.

The book is the work of a team, which assembles and assesses quotations and keeps an ear open for what is being said.

Ms Knowles's current favourite quotation is in a crop which, contrary to expectations, proves that Americans have a sense of irony.

Journalist Tom Brokaw said of the broadcast networks' premature announcement of Bush's presidential win in Florida: "We don't just have egg on our face. We have omelette all over our suits."

Which goes nicely with Bill Clinton's comment on the same election: "The American people have spoken - but it's going to take a little time to determine exactly what they said", and Al Gore's words as he introduced himself to a student audience last year: "I am Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States."

Some of the mots are more bon than others, for example Ben Elton: "Uncool people never hurt anybody - all they do is collect stamps, read science fiction books and stand at the end of railway platforms staring at trains."

However, Ralph Waldo Emerson was writing too long ago to have a snappy line included from his journals of 1849: "I hate quotations."