Mark Twain? Robert Ingersoll? Edgar Wilson Nye? John Phoenix? George H. Derby? Roscoe Conkling? John Fiske? Horace Porter? Henry David Thoreau? Hyman G. Rickover Question for Quote Investigator: Some writers use “we” as a form of self-reference. For example, an author might state: We base our opinion on the highest authority. A comically reproachful remark …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: The Difficult We Do Immediately. The Impossible Takes a Little Longer
Charles Alexandre de Calonne? Lady Aberdeen? George Santayana? Fridtjof Nansen? Nicolas Beaujon? Baron de Breteuil? Mrs. William Tilton? Question for Quote Investigator: There exists a family of entertaining sayings that cheerfully displays inordinate confidence: 1) If the thing be possible, it is already done; if impossible, it shall be done. 2) If it is simply …
Quote Origin: When a Good Old Good Note Is Blown, All the Cats Dig It
Louis Armstrong? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The renowned jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong believed in the universality of musical appeal. I think he once said: When a good note’s blown, all the cats dig it. The underlying challenge of this adage is to remain open to the appreciation of multiple musical styles and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When a Good Old Good Note Is Blown, All the Cats Dig It”
Quote Origin: One Would Risk Being Disgusted If One Saw Politics, Justice, or One’s Dinner in the Making
Nicolas Chamfort? Marchand? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: You have previously examined a well-known comment comparing the construction of laws and sausages: Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made. I believe that a similar remark was made earlier by the Frenchman Nicolas Chamfort comparing justice and meals, but I have …
Quote Origin: The Race Is Not Always to the Swift, Nor the Battle to the Strong; But That Is the Best Way to Bet
Damon Runyon? Franklin P. Adams? Hugh E. Keough? George D. Prentice? Luke McLuke? Grantland Rice? Burns Mantle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous verse in the Bible instructs readers that the advantages enjoyed by an individual do not guarantee his or her success: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is …
Quote Origin: I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It
Voltaire? François-Marie Arouet? S. G. Tallentyre? Evelyn Beatrice Hall? Ignazio Silone? Douglas Young? Norbert Guterman? Question for Quote Investigator: Would you please explore a famous saying that apparently has been misattributed to Voltaire: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. The words above reportedly …
Quote Origin: It Is Better to Know Nothing than to Know What Ain’t So
Josh Billings? Artemus Ward? Will Rogers? Abraham Lincoln? Mark Twain? Friedrich Nietzsche? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are two versions of an expression I am trying to trace: 1) It’s better to know nothing than to know what ain’t so. 2) It is better not to know so much, than to know so many …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Is Better to Know Nothing than to Know What Ain’t So”
Quote Origin: Drunk on the Idea That Love, Only Love, Could Heal Our Brokenness
F. Scott Fitzgerald? Christopher Poindexter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Goodreads is one of the most popular community websites for readers, and it includes a massive collection of quotations. Since anyone can share a quotation it is unsurprising that some of them are misattributed or inaccurately stated. Recently, I came across the following words which …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Drunk on the Idea That Love, Only Love, Could Heal Our Brokenness”
Quote Origin: Have You Tried Curiosity?
Dorothy Parker? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker was a friend of Alexander Woollcott, a notable writer for “The New Yorker” magazine. When Woollcott’s ancient cat developed a serious malady he was told by a veterinarian that the animal would have to be put to sleep. Uncertain of how …
Quote Origin: Government Is Like Fire, a Dangerous Servant and a Fearful Master
George Washington? John Tillotson? Jonathan Swift? James Fenimore Cooper? Frederick Uttley Laycock? Robert Heinlein? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A cautionary statement about statecraft has often been attributed to George Washington. Here are three versions: 1) Government is like fire, a dangerous servant and a fearful master. 2) Government, like fire, is a troublesome servant …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Government Is Like Fire, a Dangerous Servant and a Fearful Master”