Barbara W. Tuchman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular historian Barbara W. Tuchman said that a successful revolution eventually reinstates the tyrannical behavior that precipitated the initial rebellion. I do not recall the precise wording she used. Would you please help me to find this quotation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1971 Barbara W. …
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Quote Origin: We Have Passed a Lot of Water Since Then
Samuel Goldwyn? Solomon S. Levadi? Ezra Goodman? Norton Mockridge? Michael Curtiz? Mickey Rooney? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When reminiscing about events from the nostalgia-tinged past the following figurative phrase is popular: Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. The famous movie producer Samuel Goldwyn reportedly employed an unintentionally comical variant: We have …
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Quote Origin: That’s the Moose’s Problem
Robert Heinlein? Emma D. E. N. Southworth? Wilfrid S. Bronson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Science fiction luminary Robert Heinlein employed the following phrase in two of his novels: That’s the moose’s problem. The phrase seems to mean: That problem should be dealt with by someone else. Would you please explore the origin of this …
Quote Origin: MacGuffin Is the Term We Use To Cover All that Sort of Thing: To Steal Plans or Documents, or Discover a Secret, It Doesn’t Matter What It Is
Alfred Hitchcock? Elbert Hubbard? Theodore Parker? François Truffaut? Question for Quote Investigator: The influential English film director Alfred Hitchcock employed the term MacGuffin when he discussed the plots of his movies. He also told a peculiar story to explain the meaning of the term. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: In …
Quote Origin: Every Society Honors Its Live Conformists, and Its Dead Troublemakers
Mignon McLaughlin? Marshall McLuhan? Wayne Dyer? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: History books laud unconventional thinkers and eccentric characters who faced hardships during their lifetimes. An adage expressing this notion has been credited to magazine editor Mignon McLaughlin and media theorist Marshall McLuhan. Here are two versions: Would you please explore this saying? Reply from …
Quote Origin: They Who Are of Opinion that Money Will Do Everything, May Very Well Be Suspected To Do Everything for Money
Benjamin Franklin? George Savile? Apocryphal? Anonymous Question for Quote Investigator: A popular technique in rhetoric consists of repeating a clause while permuting the words. For example: Apparently, statesman Benjamin Franklin contended that a belief in the first clause led individuals to follow the guidance of the second. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from …
Quote Origin: The Capitalists Will Sell Us the Rope with Which We Will Hang Them
Vladimir Lenin? Joseph Stalin? Karl Marx? George Racey Jordan? Samuel E. Keeble? S. Dmitrijewski? Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A quotation about imprudent greed and near-sightedness has been attributed to three prominent communists: Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Karl Marx. Here are three versions of the statement: Would you please explore the provenance …
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Quote Origin: The Purpose of Life Is To Be Defeated by Greater and Greater Things
Rainer Maria Rilke? Tim O’Reilly? Louise Bogan? Robert Bly? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A recent book by technology guru and computer book publisher Tim O’Reilly contained the following appeal: Pursue something so important that even if you fail, the world is better off for you having tried. O’Reilly illustrated this idea by referring to …
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Quote Origin: Between Stimulus and Response There Is a Space. In That Space Is Our Power To Choose Our Response
Viktor E. Frankl? Stephen R. Covey? Rollo May? Thomas Walton Galloway? Sheldon P. Stoff? B. F. Skinner? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: It is possible to control ones reactions and feelings even when one is faced with frightening hardships. The psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl has been credited with the following: Between stimulus and response there …
Quote Origin: I Would Carry Away the Fire
Jean Cocteau? André Fraigneau? Harold Acton? Ned Rorem? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A top literary figure whose home was packed with valuable manuscripts and art objects was once asked to choose a favorite item. A vivid and heartbreaking scenario was proposed by an interviewer. The reply described the perfect salvation: Suppose flames were consuming …
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