Creator: Elbert Hubbard, founder of New York artisan community called Roycrofters, collector and creator of adages Context: The May 1913 issue of “The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest” published by Elbert Hubbard contained a set of humorous definitions for “editor”: EDITOR: A person employed on a newspaper, whose business it is to separate the wheat …
Monthly Archives: August 2018
Quote Origin: There Will Be Prayers in Our Schools as Long as There Are Final Exams
Ronald Reagan? Ashley Cooper? Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr.? David Condon? The Farmer’s Daughter? Norine Carman? Sam Levenson? Charles Rose? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The topic of prayers in schools in the U.S. has been controversial for many years. Humorists have reacted with quips such as: Apparently, U.S. President Ronald Reagan employed this joke. Would …
Quote Origin: I Had More Fun Doing News Reporting Than in Any Other Enterprise. It Is Really the Life of Kings
H. L. Mencken? Theo Lippman Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Newspaperman H. L. Mencken is famous for his insightful and acerbic commentaries, but he also spent the early years of his career as a reporter, and he looked back upon that period with fondness. Apparently, he nostalgically described reporting as “the life of kings” …
Quote Origin: Our Little Terraqueous Globe Here Is the Madhouse of Those Hundred Thousand Millions of Worlds
Voltaire? Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle? Edward Young? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous French philosopher and satirist Voltaire apparently wrote a story in which the universe consisted of millions of worlds, and Earth was designated a peculiar place: Our little globe is the lunatic ward of the universe. Would you please help me …
Quote Origin: I Fell In Love the Way You Fall Asleep: Slowly, and Then All At Once
Creator: John Green (John Michael Green), American author, vlogger, and educator. Context: John Green’s 2012 novel “The Fault in Our Stars” tells the story of two star-crossed lovers: Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. The couple agree to read each other’s favorite novels. While Waters is reading to Lancaster from her chosen book she experiences …
Dialogue Origin: “How Did You Go Bankrupt?” “Two Ways. Gradually and Then Suddenly.”
Creator: Ernest Hemingway, U.S. author, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature Context: The character Mike Campbell in the 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” was asked about his money troubles and responded with a vivid description embracing self-contradiction: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” “What brought …
Quote Origin: If You Are Born Poor It’s Not Your Mistake, But If You Die Poor It’s Your Mistake
Bill Gates? Muriel Strode? Ella Wheeler Wilcox? Joey Adams? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is one of the richest people in the world. A provocative remark about poverty has been ascribed to him: If you are born poor it’s not your mistake but if you die poor it’s …