Mark Twain? Jonathan Swift? Thomas Francklin? Fisher Ames? Thomas Jefferson? John Randolph? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Winston Churchill? Terry Pratchett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An insightful remark about the rapid transmission of lies is often attributed to Mark Twain and Winston Churchill. Here are two versions: (1) A lie travels around the globe while the truth …
Yearly Archives: 2014
Quote Origin: Old Age Isn’t So Bad When You Consider the Alternative
Maurice Chevalier? Harry Oliver? Louis Calhern? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following piece of humorous proverbial wisdom has been attributed to the film star Maurice Chevalier. Here are three versions: (1) Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative. (2) Growing old isn’t so terrible — when you consider the alternative. (3) …
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Quote Origin: There But for the Grace of God, Goes God
Winston Churchill? Leo C. Rosten? Walter Winchell? Herman J. Mankiewicz? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill had an unhappy experience negotiating with a politician who held a very high opinion of himself. Afterward Churchill reportedly concocted the perfect remark for deflating the pretensions of an egomaniac: There, but for the grace of God, goes …
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Quote Origin: There But For the Grace of God, Go I
John Bradford? George Whitfield? John Newton? Sherlock Holmes? Philip Neri? Dwight Moody? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A deeply religious individual once saw a man being led to the gallows and said: There but for the grace of God, go I. In modern times, this proverbial phrase is used to express empathetic compassion and a sense of …
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Dialogue Origin: “He Is Dead.” “How Can They Tell?”
Dorothy Parker? Wilson Mizner? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States, and his highly reserved character in social settings led to the nickname “Silent Cal”. A few years after his death in 1933 two similar anecdotes began to circulate about the spoken reaction to the news …
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Quote Origin: Nobody Will Ever Win the Battle of the Sexes. There’s Too Much Fraternizing with the Enemy
Henry Kissinger? M. Z. Remsburg? James Thurber? Ann Landers? Robert Orben? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a joke about the uneasy relationship between the sexes that has been told for decades: Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There’s too much fraternizing with the enemy. In the 1970s this statement was …
Quote Origin: Every Election Is a Sort of Advance Auction Sale of Stolen Goods
Ambrose Bierce? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a comically acerbic remark about elections that is often attributed to the famous cynic Ambrose Bierce: An election is nothing more than the advanced auction of stolen goods. Several of my friends have told me that these are actually the words of the …
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Quote Origin: Success Is Going from Failure to Failure Without Losing Your Enthusiasm
Winston Churchill? Abraham Lincoln? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill once famously exhorted an audience to “never give in”. There is another saying attributed to him about perseverance. Here are three versions: 1) Success is the ability to move from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm. 2) Success is going from …
Quote Origin: A Child Should Play Amongst Lovely Things
Plato? Aubert J. Clark? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher and sage Plato: The most effective kind of education is that a child should play among lovely things. Although this quotation is popular with many educators I have never seen a proper citation. Would you please …
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Quote Origin: I Would Challenge You To a Battle of Wits, But I See You Are Unarmed
William Shakespeare? Mark Twain? Oscar Wilde? Winston Churchill? Abby Buchanan Longstreet? Frank Fay? Pierre de Roman? Joey Adams? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There exists a collection of similar jokes based on word play and the terms: battle, armed, wit, and half-wit. Here are some examples: 1) I would challenge you to a battle of …