Tracing Quotations
Lord Melbourne? William Windham? Benjamin Disraeli? Sydney Smith? William Lamb? Thomas B. Macaulay? Question for Quote Investigator: Each of us has encountered an individual who with highhanded convictions presents an answer to every question. There is a famous witticism aimed at a person of this type: I only wish that I was as cocksure of …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Wish I Was As Sure of Any One Thing As He is of Everything”
Oscar Wilde? Thomas Merton? Gilbert Perreira? Menards? America Ferrera? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have spent hours trying to determine whether Oscar Wilde wrote the following as commonly claimed: Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. I have not found a single good citation. What do you think? Reply from Quote Investigator: There …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Already Taken”
Groucho Marx? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Groucho Marx became famous on Broadway before moving on to starring roles in Hollywood. His comical skills and adaptability also allowed him to master radio and television. Yet, reportedly one of his sharpest remarks playfully disparaged TV: I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: What Did Groucho Marx Do When Someone Switched On a Television?”
Andrew Lang? A. E. Housman? David Ogilvy? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Too many people use statistics selectively to provide evidence for only one side of a multi-sided contentious topic. The following saying humorously illustrates this propensity: Some individuals use statistics as a drunk man uses lamp-posts — for support rather than for illumination. …
Mark Twain? Theodor Reik? John Robert Colombo? James Eayrs? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a popular humorous maxim about history that is usually attributed to Mark Twain. But there is so much uncertainty about this ascription that a top business columnist for the “New York Times” wrote the following: “History doesn’t repeat itself …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: History Does Not Repeat Itself, But It Rhymes”
Harlan Ellison? Frank Zappa? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a popular quotation that expresses the following idea: Hydrogen and stupidity are the two most abundant materials in the universe This notion can be expressed in many different ways. One version has been credited to the SF writer Harlan Ellison, and another version has …
Samuel Goldwyn? Bryan O’Loghlen? Boyle Roche? Ed Wynn? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A contract that is written and signed is easier to comprehend and enforce. But many people rely on unwritten promises. The following cautionary humorous remark is attributed to the famous movie producer Samuel Goldwyn: A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Verbal Contract Isn’t Worth the Paper It’s Written On”
Stephen Hawking? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is an argument against the existence of time travel that can be stated as follows: If time travel were possible, we would have been overrun by tourists from the future by now. Did the famous physicist Stephen Hawking say something like this? Alternatively, was it said by …