Tracing Quotations
Head of Spiral Graphics? Steve Miller? Steven M. Scotten? Tim Kreider? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you are a skilled musician, photographer, graphic artist, or writer you have probably received requests to perform work for free. For example, many people have written pieces for “The Huffington Post” without monetary compensation. The requesters often state …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Want Me To Work For Exposure, But People Die From Exposure”
William Dean Howells? James Howell? Red Auerbach? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Promises are easy to make and easy to break. Only actual conduct and achievements produce a reliable record of behavior. A popular figurative statement succinctly expresses this idea: An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise. These words have been attributed …
Continue reading “An Acre of Performance Is Worth the Whole Land of Promise”
Louis Agassiz? William Boyd Dawkins? Charles Lyell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Groundbreaking ideas face an intimidating multistage gauntlet of resistance. Several popular quotations elaborate on this notion. The prominent Swiss-American geologist and biologist Louis Agassiz apparently crafted a pungent and humorous saying that outlined three stages. Would you please examine that quotation? Reply from …
Plato? George Francis Train? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Truth tellers often face an unhappy fate in cautionary fables. They are derided, misunderstood, persecuted, or ignored. The famous ancient philosopher Plato supposedly said: The young and old are taught falsehoods. The person who dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and fool. …
Continue reading “The Man Who Dares To Tell the Truth Is Called at Once a Lunatic and Fool”
Robert Benchley? James G. Berrien? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Some regions of garments develop a shiny appearance when fibers are repeatedly compressed. Hence, the seats of pants sometimes become shiny. A few fabrics are particularly susceptible to this problem; in the past, blue serge suits were well-known for becoming undesirably shiny. The verb ‘to shine’ …
Continue reading “I Do Most of My Work Sitting Down. That’s Where I Shine”
Roald Dahl? Willy Wonka? Gene Wilder? Horace? Lord Byron? Horace Walpole? Hudibras? Samuel Butler? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was an extraordinary confection. The candy-maker Wonka played by Gene Wilder used numerous literary quotations while leading a tour of his factory. One scene took place in …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Little Nonsense Now and Then is Relished by the Wisest Men”
John Wesley? Nicholas Murray? Laban Clark? Kirwan? Dwight L. Moody? Tombstone in Shrewsbury? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: John Wesley was a prominent English religious figure whose teachings inspired Methodism. The following elaborate injunction is sometimes called “John Wesley’s Rule of Life”: Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Do All the Good You Can; In All the Ways You Can”
Ernest Hemingway? Gowan McGland? Dylan Thomas? Peter De Vries? F. Scott Fitzgerald? James Joyce? Stephen Fry? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: “Alcohol loosens the tongue” is an old saying that some authors treat with reverence. But the resultant lubricated poetry and prose may require a red pencil. The famous writer Ernest Hemingway reportedly made one of …
Mary McCarthy? Lillian Hellman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The funniest caustic condemnation of a prevaricator that I have ever heard was delivered by the novelist and critic Mary McCarthy. The result was a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit filed by the famous playwright Lillian Hellman who was the target of the criticism. Would you please examine …
Continue reading “Every Word She Writes Is a Lie, Including “And” and “The””
Arthur Ashe? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: While engaging in a difficult physical or mental task one sometimes achieves a state of sublime concentration that enables remarkable performance. Athletes employ the following phrase to describe this ideal status: In The Zone Would you please explore the origin of this expression? Quote Investigator: During 1973 and 1974 …