Tracing Quotations
Pogo? Porky Pine? Walt Kelly? Timothy Ferris? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The comic strip “Pogo” by Walt Kelly combined beautiful artwork with entertaining wordplay and satire. Kelly also expressed a delightful sense of wonder as in the following supposed remark about the possibility of extraterrestrial life: Thar’s only two possibilities: Thar is life out …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Pogo Comic on Extraterrestrials: A Mighty Soberin’ Thought”
Mark Twain? Andrew Carnegie? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Proverbial wisdom tells us never to put all our eggs in one basket, but an inversion of that advice has been ascribed to the renowned humorist Mark Twain and the business titan Andrew Carnegie. Who should receive credit? Reply from Quote Investigator: On June 23, 1885 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Put All Your Eggs in One Basket, and Then Watch That Basket”
S. E. Hinton? David Viscott? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An article by Ed Yong about crabs on the website of “The Atlantic” contained an arresting quotation about the rarity of strong friendship. The words were ascribed to the prominent young-adult novelist S. E. Hinton (Susan Eloise Hinton). Would you please help me to find …
Robert Haven Schauffler? Nantucket Sea Captain? Rita P.? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Whenever I am tempted to complain about a setback in my life I recollect a wry piece of advice. Here are two versions: Would you please explore the provenance of this expression? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest full match located by …
Peter Drucker? Gore Vidal? Professor Giddings? Jesse H. Shera? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I belong to an organization which is expending an inordinate effort perfecting the execution of a task that is peripheral to its mission. A famous management guru spoke about the pointlessness of efficiently performing a function that should not be done …
Winston Churchill? Harry Truman? Chinese Adage? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Anyone who was sitting atop a tiger would have a difficult time dismounting safely. Apparently, this scenario has been employed metaphorically by the political leaders Winston Churchill and Harry Truman. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1937 Winston Churchill …
Charlie Chaplin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The cinema icon Charlie Chaplin depicted comic and tragic situations in his films, and he also experienced both in his personal life. One of his memorable quotations metaphorically employed the film director terms closeup and longshot to contrast tragedy and comedy. Would you help me to find a …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Life is a Tragedy when Seen in Closeup, But a Comedy in Longshot”
William Ralph Inge? John Brunner? Bishop of Ripon? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There are two different types of fools. One naively embraces and extolls everything that is old; the other credulously praises everything that is new. This insight has been ascribed to William Ralph Inge who was a professor at Cambridge and Dean of …
Edgar Allan Poe? Ted Olson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a verse stating that only one person out of one-hundred is actively working toward making bold dreams come true. This notion has been ascribed to the horror master Edgar Allan Poe. Are you familiar with this verse? Would you please examine this topic? …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It’s Easy Enough, My Friend, to Dream of Utopian Worlds Afar…”
Margaret Atwood? Posy Simmonds? Guy Bellamy? Marilyn Duckworth? R. D. Laing? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation may be morbid, but I still consider it cleverly humorous: Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease. Would you please explore its provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing this statement is difficult because it emerged from …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Life Is a Sexually Transmitted Terminal Disease”