Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Jeremiah Seed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Advice that is shouted as a command is often ignored. A different approach is more successful: Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind. The prominent English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: An Army Marches On Its Stomach
Napoleon Bonaparte? Frederick the Great? Thomas Carlyle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Proper logistics are crucial to any successful military campaign. The importance of food supply is highlighted in a well-known aphorism. Here are four versions: This saying has been ascribed to the famous leaders Napoleon Bonaparte and Frederick the Great. Would you please explore …
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Quote Origin: The Trouble With This Country is Too Many People Saying “The Trouble With This Country is …”
Sinclair Lewis? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Whenever I hear someone attempting to diagnose the problems of the world I am reminded of the following amusingly recursive remark: The trouble with this country is that there are too many people saying, “The trouble with this country is…” Although I roughly remember the quotation I do …
Quote Origin: Of Two Evils, Choose the Prettier
Carolyn Wells? Bruce Porter? Gelett Burgess? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following well-known adage concisely states a controversial moral principle: Of two evils, choose the lesser. I’ve heard these cynical variants: Would you please explore the history of the last statement? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1904 the popular and prolific writer and poet …
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Quote Origin: I Don’t Like Spinach, and I’m Glad I Don’t, Because If I Liked It I’d Eat It, and I’d Just Hate It
Clarence Darrow? George Sand? Charles Paul de Kock? Henry Monnier? Eddie Drake? Heywood Broun? Irvin S. Cobb? Steven Pinker? Anonymous? Disliked Food: Spinach? Carp Head? Eels? Oysters? Lobster? Lettuce? Green Peas? Beets? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous defense lawyer Clarence Darrow apparently had a very low opinion of the vegetable favored by the cartoon …
Quote Origin: The Best Things in Life Are Not Things
Art Buchwald? Henry James Lee? Mrs. Kenneth Clarke? Linda Godeau? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular modern adage de-emphasizes materialism: The best things in life aren’t things. This phrase has been attributed to the humorist Art Buchwald and the quotation collector Laurence J. Peter. What do you think? Reply from Quote …
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Quote Origin: A Disordered Desk Is a Sign of Genius
Leo Tolstoy? Edwin H. Stuart? Elinor Glyn? Henry Traphagen? Art Buchwald? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: While I am working hard on a complex project my desk usually becomes messy, but I take comfort in the following sayings: Would you please explore the history of this modern adage? Reply from Quote Investigator: A strong match …
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Quote Origin: Einstein’s Equation for Success in Life: A=X+Y+Z
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Einstein famously constructed a foundational equation about energy: E = mc². Apparently, he also fashioned a less-well-known humorous formula about success in life using the terms A, X, Y, and Z. Did Einstein actually craft this quasi-mathematical joke? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1929 Albert Einstein was interviewed …
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Quote Origin: What Fresh Hell Can This Be?
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The well-known wit Dorothy Parker brought forth laughter from others, but personally she experienced episodes of depression. Apparently, when her doorbell rang she would sometimes proclaim: What fresh hell is this? Is this an accurate claim? Reply from Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker died in 1967, and her earliest …
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Quote Origin: If You Don’t Know Where You Are, You Probably Don’t Know Who You Are
Wendell Berry? Wallace Stegner? Ralph Ellison? Dorothy Noyes? Question for Quote Investigator: The nature writer and activist Wendell Berry has been credited with a statement about knowing one’s place in the world: If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are. Yet, this saying has also been ascribed to the novelist …