Tracing Quotations
Erma Bombeck? Paul Dickson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, while sitting in the waiting room of a medical office I noticed that the potted plants were in dire condition. This was a bad omen, and I vaguely recall a joke about this situation. Can you help? Reply from Quote Investigator: The humorist Erma Bombeck …
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Erma Bombeck? Woody Allen? L. M. Boyd? Mark Hatfield? David B. Whitlock? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you or a loved one has faced cancer then the following assertion would be understandable: The most beautiful word in the English language is ‘benign’. This notion has been attributed to two well-known humorists Erma Bombeck and …
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John Dryden? Frederick Langbridge? Tryon Edwards? Nathanael Emmons? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A remarkably insightful statement about patterns of behavior is usually credited to the famous English poet John Dryden who died in 1700: We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. I have not been able to find a solid …
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Mark Twain? Merle Johnson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I would like to use the following adage during a presentation to a large group: It is wiser to find out than to suppose. I plan to credit Mark Twain, but I know that if I am wrong it will be very embarrassing because the entire …
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J. K. Rowling? Anaïs Nin? Plutarch? Otto Rank? Question for Quote Investigator: J. K. Rowling created the beloved fantasy universe of Harry Potter and the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She delivered a humorous and touching commencement address at Harvard University in 2008. While in college she studied the classics, and her address included …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Whatever We Achieve Inwardly Will Change Outer Reality”
Mark Twain? Abbie Hoffman? Roy F. Nichols? George McKinnon? Aardvark Magazine? Graffito? Question for Quote Investigator: The following has often been ascribed to the famous humorist Mark Twain and the 1960s-era political activist Abbie Hoffman: Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger. Apologies for offensiveness. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression? Reply from …
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Hannah Arendt? Mark Victor Hansen? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, I read the following upbeat message embracing egoism: Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight. I was astonished when I saw it ascribed to the political theorist Hannah Arendt who wrote about the Nazi Adolf Eichmann and popularized …
Mohandas Gandhi? George Hyde Preston? Lynda Bird Johnson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi who famously employed nonviolent strategies has implausibly been credited with the following piece of folk wisdom: If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If You Are Going To Be a Bear, Be a Grizzly”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Henry David Thoreau? Zig Ziglar? Question for Quote Investigator: Many self-help and inspirational books contain this guidance: What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. These words have been ascribed to three disparate individuals: German literary titan Johann Wolfgang von …
Mark Twain? Denzel Washington? Thomas Jefferson? Thomas Fuller? Orville Hubbard? Ezra Taft Benson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A cynical attitude toward the media is widespread today, but this is not a new development. Supposedly, Mark Twain made the following remark: If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the …