The Harder I Practice, the Luckier I Get

Gary Player? Arnold Palmer? Jerry Barber? Jack Youngblood? Lee Trevino? Ethel Merman? L. Frank Baum? Dear Quote Investigator: I am a fan of the golfing legend Gary Player, and the Wikipedia article about him says he: “Coined one of the most quoted aphorisms of post-War sport”: The harder you practice, the luckier you get. Is …

Quote Origin: Confused on a Higher Level and About More Important Things

Enrico Fermi? Bernt Øksendal? Earl C. Kelley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator:  My favorite quotation should resonate with anyone who has tried to master a difficult subject: We have not succeeded in answering all our problems. The answers we have found only serve to raise a whole set of new questions. In some ways we …

Laws are Like Sausages. Better Not to See Them Being Made

Otto von Bismarck? John Godfrey Saxe? Claudius O. Johnson? Dear Quote Investigator: The quotation of Otto von Bismarck about laws and sausages has been a favorite of mine for years. I found several versions using Google, and here are two: Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made. To retain respect …

Never Interfere With an Enemy While He’s in the Process of Destroying Himself

Napoleon Bonaparte? Haley Barbour? Woodrow Wilson? Question for Quote Investigator: I saw Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi on television recently and he recited a quotation that he attributed to Napoleon: You know, Napoleon said ‘Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ Is this an accurate quote? Could you investigate …

Legal Advice: Pound the Facts, Pound the Law, Pound the Table

Carl Sandburg? Alan Dershowitz? Jerome Michael? Jacob J. Rosenblum? Oliver Wendell Holmes? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A few years ago I saw a famous quotation about legal strategy attributed to a celebrity professor:[1] 2007 March 4, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Pounding the Table About Border Episode by Ruben Navarrette Jr., Page E3, Section: Weekly Review, Fort …