Tracing Quotations
George Bernard Shaw? Farmer Brown? Isaac Marcosson? Stephen Leacock? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The advice offered by economists is often equivocal and hedged. The famous playwright and witty social critic George Bernard Shaw reportedly crafted the following lament: If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion. I have …
Continue reading “If All the Economists Were Laid End to End, They Would Not Reach a Conclusion”
George Bernard Shaw? George Melly? I. S. Johar? Ann Landers? Patrick Harte? Robert Frost? Winston Churchill? Oscar Wilde? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are two versions of an adage highlighting the sensual aspects of popular gyrations: George Bernard Shaw, Ann Landers, Oscar Wilde, and Robert Frost have received credit for this saying. What do …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Dancing Is a Perpendicular Expression of a Horizontal Desire”
Bertrand Russell? Neil Postman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The relationship between language and thought is complex. The famous philosopher Bertrand Russell held the provocative belief that some thoughts could not exist without language. I believe I read this assertion in a book Russell wrote, but I have not been able to relocate the apposite passage. …
Pablo Picasso? Giovanni Papini? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Pablo Picasso reportedly admitted in a “Confession” that he did not consider himself a great artist; instead, he was an entertainer who shocked and amused the rich and indolent to gain fame and wealth. Did Picasso really say this? Quote Investigator: No. The well-known “Confession” was invented …
Continue reading “I Am Only a Public Entertainer Who Has Understood His Times”
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach? Lewis Carroll? Charles L. Dodgson? Joseph Addison? Richard Steele? Diedrich Knickerbocker? Washington Irving? Albany de Grenier Fonblanque? Paulo Coelho? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An obtuse, unreliable, or incompetent person occasionally performs properly. Here are three versions of a proverb reflecting this observation: This saying has been attributed to the prominent Austrian …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Even a Stopped Clock Is Right Twice a Day”
Milton Friedman? Robert Heinlein? Robert G. Ingersoll? Michael Montague? Walter Morrow? John Madden? Harley L. Lutz? Pierre Dos Utt? Leonard P. Ayres? Jake Falstaff? Herman Fetzer? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Today many goods and services are available for free especially via the internet. However, the true cost is usually not zero. Subsidies, indirect costs, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch — TANSTAAFL”
Helen Castle? Charley Prentice? Walt Mason? Kenneth Richards? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Noah collected and placed pairs of living creatures onto the ark he constructed according to the famous biblical tale. But not all creatures are looked upon favorably by humankind. The following comical couplet chides Noah for missing a rare opportunity: If Noah had …
Continue reading “If Noah Had Been Truly Wise, He Would Have Swatted Those Two Flies”
Nikola Tesla? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Nikola Tesla was a brilliant inventor and showman with a science fictional mystique. The following ominous quotation is attributed to him: You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension. Would you please help to find a solid citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest strong match …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You May Live To See Man-Made Horrors Beyond Your Comprehension”
George Bernard Shaw? Martin Luther King? Maxim Gorky? Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan? C. E. M. Joad? Walter Winchell? Jack Paar? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Technological progress today is shockingly vertiginous, but advancements toward human reconciliation and harmony are glacially slow. A saying from the previous century treats this topic with poignancy: Now that we have learned …
Edmund Hillary? George Mallory? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Edmund Hillary and fellow mountaineer Tenzing Norgay were the first two people to reach the summit of the tallest peak on Earth, Mount Everest, in 1953. The grueling expedition required extensive planning and the climbers displayed remarkable self-control during the ascent. Hillary reportedly summarized the lesson of …
Continue reading “It Is Not the Mountain We Conquer, But Ourselves”