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Recently, TIME Magazine ecstatically broke the "news" that women over 30 are still totally "dateable." But here's another newsflash: not all single women (over 30 or not) are desperately looking for a date, much less a for-life mate. Indeed, plenty of women are embracing singledom and all the perks of flying solo. Yet, they still face the somehow "socially acceptable" question: "So, why aren't you married yet?" This question, which often comes from well-meaning friends or relatives, seems to demand that you justify your life choices in 30 seconds or less. That's a challenge for even the most confident and content of bachelorettes. Luckily, plenty of history's most fabulous women summed up their happily-single status in quips short enough to tweet and smart enough to shut down any further questions. We've rounded up some of their greatest lines. Borrow one of them next time you face nosey questions, or let them inspire a quip of your own: 1. Marriage is a great institution but I�m not ready for an institution yet �Mae West 2. I have never had an impulse to go to the alter. I am a difficult person to lead � Greta Garbo 3. Marriage is an all absorbing profession - Susan B. Anthony 4. I married the world, the world is my husband � Elsa Maxwell 5. I think, therefore I�m single � Liz Winstead 6. I was my own master and I depended on myself alone � Coco Chanel 7. Oh, I am an independent � Mary Cassat 8. I don�t believe in marriage, it�s bloody impractical � Katharine Hepburn 9. I don�t need a man to rectify my existence � Shirley MacLaine 10. I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married � Queen Elizabeth I