Tracing Quotations
Raymond Chandler? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Raymond Chandler wrote influential detective novels such as “The Big Sleep” and “The Long Goodbye”. He moved to Hollywood and co-wrote the screenplay for the film noir classic “Double Indemnity”, but Chandler grew to dislike the heavy hand of producers, directors, and censorship boards on the writing process. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Without Magic, There Is No Art. Without Art, There Is No Idealism”
Roger Branigin? Mark Twain? Charles Brownson? Irving Leibowitz? William I. Greener Jr.? H. L. Mencken? Benjamin Franklin? Question for Quote Investigator: If a newspaper editor or publisher dislikes a viewpoint you are advocating then you may have to endure a long series of negative articles. The following three statements express this notion: Many famous wordsmiths …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Never Argue with a Man Who Buys Ink by the Barrel”
Voltaire? Peter Gay? William F. Bottiglia? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Many dubious quotations have been ascribed to the preeminent French satirist and philosopher Voltaire. One popular saying depicts life as a metaphorical shipwreck. The survivors are exhorted to sing while sitting in the lifeboats. Is this saccharine guidance really from the acrid pen of …
Winston Churchill? Ronald Knox? Gerald K. Rudulph? C. H. McNider? Richard N. Elliott? Louis Sobol? Frances Langford? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous statesman and orator Winston Churchill was asked about the length of an ideal address, and he supposedly said: A speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the …
Carl Jung? James L. McAllister Jr.? Malcolm Gladwell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following postulate embodies a flexible outlook on life: There is an exception to every rule. The famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung promulgated an even stronger adage about people: Every individual is an exception to the rule. Would you please help me …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Every Individual Is an Exception to the Rule”
Jean-Baptiste Colbert? Anne Robert Jacques Turgot? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Governments face resistance and resentment when they attempt to raise funds through taxation. Apparently, a French wit crafted the following vivid figurative expression. Here are two versions: Would you please explore the provenance of this saying? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest strong match …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Taxation Is the Art of Plucking the Goose without Making It Squeal”
Yogi Berra? Albert Einstein? Richard Feynman? Benjamin Brewster? Charles F. Kettering? Walter J. Savitch? Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut? Dave Jeske? Chuck Reid? Question for Quote Investigator: The following popular adage balances unsteadily between brilliance and absurdity: In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. This notion has been …
Lord Palmerston? George Ward Nichols? John Moncure? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Describing a counterfactual world typically requires a comically twisted statement: What would have happened if what did happen had not happened? These words have been attributed to British statesman Lord Palmerston, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please …
Sylvester Stallone? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Dreamers with visions of riches and success were recently encouraged by advertisements to attend a “Wealth Expo” held in Toronto which covered the topics of real estate and bitcoin. I saw a sign with a motivational quotation attributed to the Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone who was one of …
Frederick Douglass? Stephen Decatur Miller? Woody Jenkins? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent public speaker once asserted that the preservation of liberty depended on three boxes: The ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box. This statement employed metonymy: the “ballot box” referred to input from the populace via the electoral process; the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Ballot Box, Jury Box, Cartridge Box”