Tracing Quotations
Roger Federer? John Templeton? Walter Winchell? Kay Dangerfield? James H. Lane? Tony Curtis? Bob Olin? Sidney Blackmer? Joe Franklin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Antimetabole is a clever literary technique in which a phrase is repeated, but key words are reversed. For example: It is nice to be important, but more important to be nice. …
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Walt Kelly? Don Mitchell? Fred W. Bewley? Leon Shimkin? A. C. Monteith? W. Willard Wirtz? Hubert Humphrey? Howard J. Samuels? George H. W. Bush? W. C. Fields? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Walt Kelly authored the magnificent comic strip “Pogo” featuring hilarious wordplay. He has been credited with the following oxymoronic phrase: Our problem is …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: We Are Confronted by an Insurmountable Opportunity”
Jane Austen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous novelist Jane Austen wrote that when she was reading an enjoyable book she always found that it was too short. Would you please help me to locate this quotation? Reply from Quote Investigator: Jane Austen was born in 1775, and she began to work on a …
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Groucho Marx? Frank Parker? Marty Allen? Steve Rossi? Dorothy Shay? Ed Reed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The comedian Groucho Marx apparently crafted a witty twist on beauty and inheritance. Here are two versions: Would you please explore the provenance of this quip? Reply from Quote Investigator: Groucho Marx who died in 1977 received credit …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: He Got His Good Looks from His Mother. She’s a Plastic Surgeon”
Winston Churchill? Stephen Fry? Henry James Byron? W. Davenport Adams? Aubrey Stewart? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The recent memoir by English comedian and actor Stephen Fry contains the following intriguing remark: ‘Young men sow wild oats, old men grow sage,’ Churchill is reputed to have said. It almost never is Churchill. In fact collectors …
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W. E. B. Du Bois? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: W. E. B. Du Bois was a prominent sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist. He spoke about the unstoppable force of a person resolved to rise, and he said: The human soul cannot be permanently chained. Would you please help me to find a citation? …
Charles F. Kettering? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Charles F. Kettering was a prolific inventor and the head of research for General Motors for many years. During an interview he apparently uttered a line about the future that was simultaneously humorous and insightful: We should all be concerned about the future because we will have …
Pablo Picasso? Vincent van Gogh? Fred Beerstein? Question for Quote Investigator: You have the following inspirational saying on the website: Only one who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible. The above remark reminded me of a statement that has been attributed to two very different painters: Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh: …
Arthur C. Clarke? Bob Thaves? Evan Esar? Jonah Peretti? Paul Heskett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke was once asked whether he believed in astrology, and he gave a facetious self-contradictory answer. I have not been able to find a solid citation. Would you please help? Reply from …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Don’t Believe in Astrology; I’m a Sagittarian and We’re Skeptical”
Albert Einstein? Al-Anon? Narcotics Anonymous? Max Nordau? George Bernard Shaw? Samuel Beckett? George A. Kelly? Rita Mae Brown? John Larroquette? Jessie Potter? Werner Erhard? Question for Quote Investigator: It’s foolish to repeat ineffective actions. One popular formulation presents this point harshly: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and …