Plato? George Francis Train? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: I Do Most of My Work Sitting Down. That’s Where I Shine
Robert Benchley? James G. Berrien? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: A Little Nonsense Now and Then is Relished by the Wisest Men
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 …
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Quote Origin: Do All the Good You Can; In All the Ways You Can
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 all the …
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Quote Origin: Write Drunk, Revise Sober
Ernest Hemingway? Gowan McGland? Dylan Thomas? Peter De Vries? F. Scott Fitzgerald? James Joyce? Stephen Fry? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: Every Word She Writes Is a Lie, Including “And” and “The”
Mary McCarthy? Lillian Hellman? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: In The Zone
Arthur Ashe? Anonymous? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: During …
Quote Origin: If All the Economists Were Laid End to End, They Would Not Reach a Conclusion
George Bernard Shaw? Farmer Brown? Isaac Marcosson? Stephen Leacock? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: Dancing Is a Perpendicular Expression of a Horizontal Desire
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 …
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Quote Origin: Language Serves Not Only to Express Thoughts, but to Make Possible Thoughts Which Could Not Exist Without It
Bertrand Russell? Neil Postman? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …