H. L. Mencken? George Jean Nathan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous curmudgeon H. L. Mencken asserted that the most daring liars were rewarded with public admiration. I do not recall the precise phrasing Mencken employed. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1922 “The Smart Set” …
Monthly Archives: June 2020
Quote Origin: No One Is More Dangerous Than He Who Imagines Himself Pure In Heart; For His Purity, By Definition, Is Unassailable
James Baldwin? Norman Mailer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Individuals who consider themselves to be pure in heart are unable to recognize their own flaws. This can lead to wrong-headed and disastrous actions. The prominent novelist and essayist James Baldwin once made a comparable point about benighted self-assessment. Would you please help me to find …
Quote Origin: I’m Drunk, But I’ll Get Over That Soon. You’re a Fool and You’ll Never Get Over That
John Bent? Navy Sailor? Drunken Fellow? Winston Churchill? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The state of inebriation is temporary, but the state of stupidity is durable. A clever dialog hinges on this fundamental difference: “You are drunk.” “Yes, and you are a fool. But I will be sober in the morning, and you will remain …
Quote Origin: Puritanism Is the Haunting Fear That Someone, Somewhere, May Be Happy
H. L. Mencken? George Jean Nathan? Nellie McClung? Beverly Gray? John Cleese? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are four versions of a mordant definition of puritanism: This quip has been attributed to the prominent journalist Henry Louis Mencken. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: In January 1925 “The American Mercury” …
Quote Origin: When We’re Growing Up There Are All Sorts of People Telling Us What To Do . . .
Ellen Page? Lisa O’Kelly? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I once heard an insightful remark about growing up from the prize-winning Canadian actress Ellen Page. I do not remember the exact phrasing. Roughly, she said that young people are often told what to do when they should be given space to decide what to become. …
Quote Origin: Once a Newspaper Touches a Story, the Facts Are Lost Forever, Even To the Protagonists
Norman Mailer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: U.S. journalist and best-selling novelist Norman Mailer once sardonically stated that when newspapers focus on a story the facts are lost forever; inevitably, even the participants lose track of the facts. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In June 1960 “Esquire” …
Quote Origin: I Think of Beauty as an Absolute Necessity
Toni Morrison? Claudia Brodsky Lacour? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The theme of beauty is pivotal within the novels written by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. She once stated that beauty was an absolute necessity. Would you please help me to find a citation. Reply from Quote Investigator: In 2019 “The Paris Review” published a podcast …
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Quote Origin: A Gorgeous Bird is the Pelican, Whose Beak Will Hold More Than His Bellican
C. M. Marshton? Dixon Lanier Merritt? Ogden Nash? Jeff McLemore? Bennett Cerf? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A comical poem about the pelican uses a creative rhyming scheme with the word “pelican” matched to the invented words “belican” (belly can) and “helican” (hell he can). Would you please explore the provenance of this work? Reply …
Quote Origin: Fashion Is Architecture: It Is a Matter of Proportions
Coco Chanel? Marcel Haedrich? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Did the famous fashion designer and style arbiter Coco Chanel say that “fashion Is architecture”? Would you please help me to find a citation showing the context? Reply from Quote Investigator: Coco Chanel died in 1971, and in that same year Marcel Haedrich authored a biography …
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Quote Origin: Appalling Silence of the Good People
Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Civil rights champion Martin Luther King Jr. expressed unhappiness with people who were unwilling to support his efforts due to apathy or fear. He used the phrase “appalling silence”. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1958 Martin Luther …
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