Tracing Quotations
Marilyn Monroe? Sheilah Graham? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Beauty icon Marilyn Monroe’s film career was jeopardized in the 1950s when scandal-mongers reported on her past as a risqué calendar model. Interestingly, her popularity and fame actually grew. When she was questioned about the calendar she responded with a clever and hilarious remark about a radio. …
Continue reading “It’s Not Quite True I Had Nothing On: The Radio Was On”
Stewart Brand? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Revenues in the recorded music industry and the advertiser-supported newspaper business have collapsed in the past twenty years. I am reminded of the following provocative remark: Information wants to be free. Apparently, this is only part of a larger quotation. Would you please explore the provenance of these words? …
Continue reading “Information Wants To Be Expensive. Information Wants To Be Free”
Benjamin Franklin? Theodore Edward Hook? Maria Edgeworth? Arthur Wellesley? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The statesman Benjamin Franklin is often credited with the following aphorism. Here are two versions: A person good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else. A man who is good at making excuses is good for nothing else. I have …
Continue reading “Those Who Are Good at Making Excuses Are Seldom Good at Anything Else”
Pablo Picasso? Leonard Lyons? Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler? Arthur Koestler? Marshall McLuhan? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The most fascinating anecdote about authenticity that I have ever heard features Pablo Picasso repudiating a painting that he apparently created. Are you familiar with this tale? Would you please explore its provenance? Quote Investigator: The earliest occurrence of this anecdote …
Barbara W. Tuchman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular historian Barbara W. Tuchman said that a successful revolution eventually reinstates the tyrannical behavior that precipitated the initial rebellion. I do not recall the precise wording she used. Would you please help me to find this quotation? Quote Investigator: In 1971 Barbara W. Tuchman published “Stilwell …
Samuel Goldwyn? Solomon S. Levadi? Ezra Goodman? Norton Mockridge? Michael Curtiz? Mickey Rooney? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: When reminiscing about events from the nostalgia-tinged past the following figurative phrase is popular: Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. The famous movie producer Samuel Goldwyn reportedly employed an unintentionally comical variant: We have passed …
Robert Heinlein? Emma D. E. N. Southworth? Wilfrid S. Bronson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Science fiction luminary Robert Heinlein employed the following phrase in two of his novels: That’s the moose’s problem. The phrase seems to mean: That problem should be dealt with by someone else. Would you please explore the origin of this expression? …