Wilson Mizner? Addison Mizner? Douglas Malloch? Louis Ginsberg? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An adage from antiquity asserts that a great poet must have an inborn talent that cannot be taught or feigned: A poet is born, not made. The dire financial condition of the market for poetry has inspired a humorously modified expression: A …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Starting To Write a Book: There Is No Agony Like It
Agatha Christie? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The acclaimed mystery writer Agatha Christie wrote more than sixty novels and sold an enormous number of copies. Yet, I was told that somewhere she had claimed that writing was agony for her. Is this possible? Would you please examine this question? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1977 …
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Quote Origin: Thinking Is the Hardest Work There Is, which Is the Probable Reason Why So Few Engage In It
Henry Ford? G. K. Chesterton? Charles Zueblin? Franklin Minor? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The automotive titan Henry Ford reportedly crafted a humorous and insightful remark about thinking. Here are three versions: 1) Thinking is hard work. That may be the reason so few engage in it. 2) Thinking is the hardest work there is, …
Quote Origin: Britain and America Are Two Nations Divided by a Common Language
George Bernard Shaw? Mallory Browne? Raymond Gram Swing? Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The influential Irish playwright and commentator George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a humorous remark about language. Here are four versions: 1) Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.2) The English and Americans are two …
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Quote Origin: We Only Think When We Are Confronted With a Problem
John Dewey? William F. Russell? Helena Weatherby? Thomas A. Harris? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Thinking thoroughly about a topic is a difficult and painstaking task. Many people prefer quick and easy answers that can be selected with minimal thought. Yet sometimes people face obstacles that require careful cogitation. The famous philosopher and teacher John …
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Quote Origin: Signed His Name With April Fool and Forgot to Write the Letter
Henry Ward Beecher? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Are you familiar with the amusing anecdote about an “April Fool” letter sent to the famous orator Henry Ward Beecher. Would you please examine the tale’s provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI was published on April 27, 1870 in the “Daily Evening …
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Quote Origin: Research Is the Process of Going Up Alleys to See If They’re Blind
Marston Bates? Barstow Bates? Plutarch? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A path-breaking researcher must pursue many leads that do not work out. Sometimes he or she must exhaustively test a set of possibilities with the foreknowledge that only a handful will yield positive results. That is why I embrace the following insightful saying: Research is …
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Quote Origin: Love Never Dies of Starvation, But Often of Indigestion
Ninon de Lenclos? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Ninon de Lenclos (also L’enclos) was a famous French author and courtesan who died in 1705. Her friends valued her perceptiveness, and one man asked her for guidance because he was infatuated with his paramour. Lenclos warned that his ardor would cool if he spent too much …
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Quote Origin: If In the Last Few Years You Haven’t Discarded a Major Opinion or Acquired a New One, Check Your Pulse. You May Be Dead
Gelett Burgess? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Anyone who wishes to remain intellectually vital must be willing to challenge his or her own opinions. Viewpoints should evolve and flawed notions should be replaced. I came across the following cogent expression: If in the last few years you haven’t discarded a major opinion or acquired …
Quote Origin: If You Want To Tell People the Truth, You’d Better Make Them Laugh or They’ll Kill You
George Bernard Shaw? Oscar Wilde? Cecile Starr? Billy Wilder? Richard Pryor? James L. Brooks? Dustin Hoffman? Charles Ludlam? Question for Quote Investigator: Dramatists have discovered that challenging material often elicits hostility or boredom. This is dangerous for creators because jobs in the entertainment industry are precarious. Yet, a provocative production leavened with humor is often …