Will Rogers? Ron Chernow? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The U.S. journalist and historian Ron Chernow spoke at the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner. He shared a quip attributed to humorist Will Rogers about the status reversal of comedians and politicians. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote …
Monthly Archives: April 2019
Quote Origin: The Two Most Engaging Powers of an Author: New Things Are Made Familiar, and Familiar Things Are Made New
Samuel Johnson? William Makepeace Thackeray? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The craft of storytelling is ancient; hence, creating original plots and characters is difficult. On the other hand, experimental tales without connections to the past are discordant. Here is a germane adage about successful creators: The two most engaging powers of an author are to …
Quote Origin: Fashions, After All, Are Only Induced Epidemics
George Bernard Shaw? Gloria Steinem? W.H. Auden? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A style, jingle, gif, graffito, saying, or idea that rapidly mutates and propagates through a culture and achieves popularity is called a “meme” nowadays. The coinage of “meme” was based on “gene”, but a different biological metaphor was employed in the …
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Quote Origin: For There Is Nothing As Stupid As an Educated Man If You Get Off the Thing That He Was Educated In
Will Rogers? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Achieving extensive knowledge and expertise in one domain can be quite valuable, but it does not automatically allow one to pontificate intelligently in a different domain. The intellectual mastery attained by some experts is quite narrow. Here is a germane remark: There is nothing so stupid as an …
Quote Origin: Success Is a Science; If You Have the Conditions, You Get the Result
Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, I encountered the following bromide within a get-rich-quick self-help book: Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result. I was astonished to find that the words were attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde. The websites listing the quotation were useless. None …
Quote Origin: Owe Your Banker £1,000 and You Are at His Mercy; Owe Him £1 Million and the Position Is Reversed
John Maynard Keynes? Paul Bareau? John Paul Getty? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The relationship between bankers and borrowers is symbiotic and occasionally counter-intuitive. Here is a pertinent adage: If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem; if you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem. The prominent economist John Maynard Keynes …
Quote Origin: My Idea of a Gentleman Is He Who Can Play a Cornet and Won’t
Oscar Wilde? Mark Twain? Frank Fiest? Will Rogers? Walter Armstrong? Herman Lindauer? William M. Lewis? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: What do the following musical instruments have in common: cornet, ukulele, saxophone, bagpipes, accordion, and banjo? Each of these instruments has a distinctive sound that is unpleasant to some listeners providing inspiration for a family …
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Quote Origin: They Crawl Back Into the Woodwork
Dorothy Parker? Alexander Woollcott? Bennett Cerf? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The idiom “to crawl out of the woodwork” refers to an unpleasant person or thing that quickly emerges from hiding or obscurity. The companion idiom “to crawl back into the woodwork” refers to the person or thing disappearing. The authoritative Oxford English Dictionary has …
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Quote Origin: Take the First Step in Faith. You Don’t Have To See the Whole Staircase, Just Take the First Step
Martin Luther King Jr.? Marian Wright Edelman? George Sweeting? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has received credit for a stimulating remark about faith. Here are two versions: (1) Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. (2) Take the first step …
Quote Origin: Sold His Soul for a Pot of Message
Critic: Max Beerbohm? G. K. Chesterton? Hugh Walpole? C. L. Edson? Piccolo? Maurice Francis Egan? John Cournos? Sara Henderson Hay? Theodore Sturgeon? Anonymous? Person Being Criticized: H. G. Wells? John Galsworthy? William Lafayette Strong? Douglas Goldring? Margaret Halsey? Question for Quote Investigator: The Bible tells the story of Esau who made a foolishly impulsive decision …
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