Tracing Quotations
Jean Cocteau? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent French writer Jean Cocteau has been credited with the following humorously skewed definition. Here are three versions: A great literary masterpiece is simply a dictionary in disorder. The greatest masterpiece in literature is only a dictionary out of order. Masterpieces of literature are nothing more than the …
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Winston Churchill? Henry Ward Beecher? Professor Matthews? Elias J. MacEwan? Dear Quote Investigator: According to legend a young Member of Parliament approached Winston Churchill with a copy of an address he was planning to deliver and asked him how he could put more fire into it. Churchill responded: Put fire into this speech? I suggest …
Continue reading “Put Fire Into This Speech? You Should Put This Speech Into the Fire”
Agatha Christie? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The brilliant mystery writer Agatha Christie is one of the most popular authors in history. Apparently, she once stated that the plots for her books were constructed and refined while she was pursuing quotidian activities such as washing dishes, bathing, eating apples, and walking. Would you please help me …
Sinclair Lewis? Huey Long? Eugene V. Debs? Lonnie Jackson? A. L. Sachar? James Waterman Wise? Robert H. Jackson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The impulses of nationalism and authoritarianism sometimes combine to produce devastating results. The following saying has been attributed to the prominent writer Sinclair Lewis and the populist politician Huey Long: When Fascism …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When Fascism Comes To America, It Will Be Wrapped in the Flag”
Winston Churchill? Bertram Carr? F. W. Cole? John D. Rockefeller? L. P. Jacks? Helen Keller? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are four versions of a popular saying about differing mental attitudes: The statesman Winston Churchill is typically credited with this remark, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please help? …
Humphrey Bogart? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Maintaining a private personal life is nearly impossible for individuals who become famous. Gossip shows revel in presenting an endless stream of sensitive and embarrassing incidents. Apparently, the Hollywood superstar Humphrey Bogart once said in exasperation something like the following: The only thing I owe the public is a …
Continue reading “I Don’t Owe My Public Anything Except a Good Performance”
Tallulah Bankhead? Dorothy Parker? Robert Benchley? James Boswell? Richard Burke? William Hazlitt? Dear Quote investigator: The actress Tallulah Bankhead was watching an ostentatious play, and she whispered to her companion a hilarious line based on an inverted cliché: There is less in this than meets the eye. This quip has also been attributed to two …
C. P. Snow? Carrie Snow? Barrington Moore Jr.? Dear Quote Investigator: Scientific theories should be constructed from carefully gathered facts and data. The empirical process requires the subordination of credulous wishes and desires. Succinctly stated: Science is the refusal to believe on the basis of hope. This statement has been ascribed to C. P. Snow …
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Albert Einstein? Enrico Fermi? Leon M. Lederman? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: During the twentieth century the field of physics advanced astonishingly quickly. Researchers discovered a large number of elementary particles. A prominent physicist quipped: If I could remember the names of all those particles, I’d be a botanist. Did Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, or somebody …
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Richard Serra? Carlota Fay Schoolman? Steve Atkins? Tom Johnson? Claire Wolfe? Andrew Lewis? blue_beetle? Tim O’Reilly? Question for Quote Investigator: For decades the most powerful mass medium has been television. The internet has dramatically shifted our access to information. Nowadays, society reflects upon itself by using internet search engines. Yet, both of these fundamental channels …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You’re Not the Customer; You’re the Product”