A. J. Liebling? Shirley Povich? Red Smith? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The journalist A. J. Liebling was well-known for his productivity at the typewriter. Yet, high speed in composition and high quality in prose are sometimes antithetical goals. Liebling crafted a statement about his skills that was simultaneously egotistical and self-deprecating: I can write faster …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Let Us Be More Ashamed of Shabby Ideas and Shoddy Philosophies
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, the dress sense of a leading British politician was criticized, and his sharp rejoinder was based on a quotation attributed to Albert Einstein contrasting the relative importance of shabby clothes versus shabby ideas. Would you please examine the provenance of this statement? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of …
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Brevity Is the Soul of Lingerie
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: William Shakespeare memorably wrote that: Brevity is the soul of wit. The wordsmith Dorothy Parker famously transformed the Bard’s phrase into a humorous and erotic remark: Brevity is the soul of lingerie. Several quotation references list Parker’s statement, but the earliest citation I’ve seen is indirect; a friend named …
One Cannot Invent What Does Not Exist. The Genius of Invention Lies in Rediscovering What Has Been Lost, Forgotten, or Misunderstood
Pablo Picasso? Jacques Lassaigne? Mary Chamot? Playboy? Dear Quote Investigator: I came across the following statement attributed to the prominent artist Pablo Picasso: A painter cannot paint what does not exist. He can only rediscover what has been lost, forgotten or misunderstood. This is certainly a curious ontological outlook, but I have not been able …
It Doesn’t Matter Who You Love or How You Love, But That You Love
John Lennon? Rod McKuen? Sally Jessy Raphael? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular meme/quotation on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr: It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, or how you love, it matters only that you love. This saying is attributed to …
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No One Owns Life, But Anyone Who Can Pick Up a Frying Pan Owns Death
William S. Burroughs? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Pronouncements about the dichotomy of life and death are often somber, serious, and banal. However, William S. Burroughs, the postmodernist author of “Naked Lunch” and “Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict”, apparently crafted the following eccentric statement: No one owns life, but anyone who can pick up …
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Music Washes Away from the Soul the Dust of Everyday Life
Pablo Picasso? Berthold Auerbach? Playboy? Aline Saarinen? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator:The following adage has been attributed to the famous painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso. Here are two versions: 1) Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. 2) The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. …
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We Love Music for the Buried Hopes, the Garnered Memories, the Tender Feelings, It Can Summon with a Touch
Letitia Elizabeth Landon? Pablo Picasso? Samuel Rogers? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement has been attributed to the major artist Pablo Picasso: Art! I love it for the buried hopes, the garnered memories, the tender feelings it can summon at a touch. Curiously, a similar remark about music has been attributed to the Victorian novelist …
When There’s Anything To Steal, I Steal
Pablo Picasso? Françoise Gilot? Carlton Lake? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. He was also open to the ideas and approaches of other creators. The following remark has been attributed to the master painter: When there’s anything to steal, I steal. Is this statement …
Quote Origin: Nits Will Be Lice
John Nalson? Oliver Cromwell? Tom Quick? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Historically, non-combatants have sometimes been deliberately attacked during warfare. A cruel motto has been employed to rationalize the targeting of young people. Here are three versions: Nits make lice. Nits will become lice. Nits will be lice. A “nit” refers to the egg of …