Tracing Quotations
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant wit Dorothy Parker’s career was based on writing. She composed screenplays in Hollywood, and she authored columns for the magazines “Esquire” and “The New Yorker”. Yet, she was not always happy with her literary livelihood. Recently on Pinterest I saw a piece of comically lethal acerbic …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Shoot Them Now, While They’re Happy”
George Washington? C. S. Wheatley? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Are you familiar with the “liberty teeth” speech attributed to George Washington? Researchers have been unable to find evidence that Washington delivered this address, and some phrases are apparently anachronistic. Would you please explore its provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by …
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Ronald E. Osborn? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following adage about personal growth has appeared in many self-help and motivational texts: Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Often the words are attributed to the well-known transcendental philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, but …
Albert Einstein? M. C. Escher? Robin Morgan? Miguel de Unamuno? Miguel de Cervantes? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: To fully succeed in life one must ultimately follow an audacious path that may seem nonsensical or reckless to ones colleagues. My favorite saying supports this idea. Here are three versions: 1) Only those who attempt the …
Julian Huxley? H. L. Mencken? Lewis Browne? Eric Temple Bell? William James? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The QI website has an article tracing a quip about a problematic absurdist quest: A metaphysician is a man who goes into a dark cellar at midnight without a light looking for a black cat that is not …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Philosopher, the Theologian, and the Elusive Black Cat”
Louisa May Alcott? Liz Smith? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation is popular with book lovers, and it has appeared on posters, mugs, tote bags, plaques, bookmarks, and jewelry: She is too fond of books, and it has addled her brain. The statement is attributed to the famous novelist Louisa May Alcott who …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: She Is Too Fond of Books, and It Has Turned Her Brain”
Charles Darwin? Lord Bowen? Confucius? E. R. Pearce? William James? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A vivid and comical metaphor has been applied to professions that require abstract and recondite reasoning abilities: A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black hat which isn’t there. A metaphysician …
Mark Twain? Richard Branson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson has argued that imagination provides hope, drive, and inspiration. He believes it should be “intertwined in daily life”; to support this thought he referred to a quotation attributed to Mark Twain: You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Can’t Depend On Your Eyes When Your Imagination Is Out of Focus”
Lee Arthur? Dick Motta? Dan Cook? Ralph Carpenter? Fred Speck? Bob Pafford? Art Buchwald? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The leading position in an athletic or political contest can dramatically shift during a short period, and sometimes the outcome can be dependent on the final stage of competition. A family of adages employs analogical language …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Ain’t Over ’Til the Fat Lady Sings”
Harry Truman? A. B. Warfield? Spencer Z. Hilliard? Clifford M. Alexander? Lester C. Hunt? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The phrase “pass the buck” refers to shifting responsibility from one person to another. U.S. President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk in the White House that famously stated: The Buck Stops Here Thus, …