Dorothy Parker? Hudson Six Owner? Alexander Woollcott? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker was once asked to create an epitaph for her tombstone. Apparently, she crafted several different candidates for inscription over the years: 1) Excuse My Dust 2) Here Lies the Body of Dorothy Parker. Thank God! 3) This Is …
Yearly Archives: 2014
Quote Origin: You Can’t Be a Real Country Unless You Have a Beer and an Airline
Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Did the Frank Zappa really say that a proper country needs a beer and an airline? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1989 “The Real Frank Zappa Book” was published by the well-known songwriter and musician, and it included an instance of the remark mentioned above. Zappa was not …
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Quote Origin: If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going
Winston Churchill? John Randall Dunn? J. Woodruff Smith? Douglas Bloch? Linda Crew? Mario Murillo? Brian Mulroney? Wally Amos? Ron Kenoly? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill is often associated with quotations about steadfastness and tenacity. Consider the following saying: If you’re going through hell, keep going. I have seen this statement attributed to Churchill …
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Quote Origin: Whenever a Friend Succeeds, a Little Something in Me Dies
Gore Vidal? Wilfrid Sheed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a mordant expression that reflects the corrosive nature of jealousy. Here are four versions: 1) Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies. 2) Every time a friend succeeds I die a little. 3) When a friend succeeds, a small part of …
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Quote Origin: You’ll Worry Less About What People Think of You When You Realize How Seldom They Do
David Foster Wallace? Olin Miller? Lee Traveler? Ethel Barrett? Mark Twain? John Steinbeck? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An astute quotation about insecurity is often attributed to the novelist and teacher David Foster Wallace: You’ll worry less about what people think about you when you realize how seldom they do. Versions of this statement have …
Quote Origin: Education Is What Remains After You Have Forgotten Everything You Learned In School
Albert Einstein? B. F. Skinner? Edouard Herriot? C. F. Thwing? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Agnes F. Perkins? James Bryant Conant? E. F. L. Wood? George Savile? Lord Halifax? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: My question concerns a provocative aphorism about memory, schooling, and curriculum. Here are four example statements that can be grouped together: 1) Culture …
Quote Origin: The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off
Gloria Steinem? Joe Klaas? Anne Kristine Stuart? David Icke? Bill Cosby? Erin Brockovich? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement is sometimes used as a rallying cry by activists: The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. The words are typically attributed to the feminist Gloria Steinem. Would you …
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Quote Origin: Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in Your Life
Confucius? Arthur Szathmary? An Old-Timer? Janet Lambert-Moore? Harvey Mackay? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I assist students in the selection of accurate and properly credited quotations for the school yearbook. One student would like to use a popular adage about career choice: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a …
Quote Origin: The Biggest Problem in Communication Is the Illusion That It Has Taken Place
George Bernard Shaw? William H. Whyte? Pierre Martineau? Joseph Coffman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am copy editing a book, and the author would like to include an insightful remark about communication. Here are four versions: 1) The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. 2) The greatest …
Quote Origin: Nobody Goes There Anymore, It’s Too Crowded
Yogi Berra? Rags Ragland? Suzanne Ridgeway? John McNulty? Ukie Sherin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An amusing anecdote states that baseball great Yogi Berra was once asked whether he wished to have dinner at a highly-regarded restaurant, and he replied with a remark combining wisdom with contradiction: Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded. Is …
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