Tracing Quotations
Mark Twain? Madame de Sévigné? Madame Roland? Alphonse de Lamartine? Alphonse Toussenel? Louise de la Rameé? Alfred D’Orsay? Thomas Carlyle? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular expression combines disappointment with humanity together with praise for canines. Here are four versions: The more I see of men, the more I like dogs. The more I learn …
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Ahmed Zaki Yamani? Don Huberts? Nader H. Sultan? Andrew Hoskinson? Jeroen van der Veer? Thomas Friedman? William McDonough? Dear Quote Investigator: A recent presentation about advances in renewable energy emphasized the dramatic cost reductions occurring in solar and wind power. The speaker argued that reliance on fossil fuels would decrease substantially in the future. The …
Speaker: Julie Burchill? Elizabeth Bowen? Ezra Klein? Paul Krugman? Andrew Sullivan? Hermione Eyre? William Donaldson? Target: Stephen Fry? Aldous Huxley? Dick Armey? Newt Gingrich? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, I heard an uncomplimentary quip applied to an intellectual. Here are three versions: The stupid person’s idea of a clever person The dumb person’s idea of a …
Continue reading “The Stupid Person’s Idea of the Clever Person”
Johnny Carson? Kenneth Tynan? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The late-night talk-show host Johnny Carson was one of the most successful entertainers in U.S. history. He spent thirty years as the star of “The Tonight Show” on the NBC television network. Before he embraced the celebrated nocturnal hosting duties he held nine different jobs. That fact …
Frederik Pohl? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Frederik Pohl was an influential award-winning science-fiction author and editor. Apparently, Pohl’s Law states: Nothing is so good that somebody somewhere won’t hate it. Would you please examine this linkage? Quote Investigator: Multiple statements have been labeled “Pohl’s Law” over the years. In 1966 Pohl was the editor of …
Continue reading “Pohl’s Law: Nothing Is So Good that Somebody Somewhere Won’t Hate It”