Tracing Quotations
Calvin Coolidge? Frank B. Noyes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: President Calvin Coolidge was known as “Silent Cal” because of his extraordinarily laconic speech. A famous anecdote tells of a dinner party during which the person sitting adjacent to the Coolidge said: “Mr. President I’ve made a large bet that I would be able to …
Continue reading “Dialogue Origin: “I Bet I Could Get Three Words Out of You.” “You Lose.””
Madison Avenue? Doctor’s Advice? Graffito? Dick Sharples? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When I strained a muscle recently a friend told me that the injury was nature’s way of telling me to slow down. Another friend quipped: Death is nature’s way of telling you to slow down. Would you please explore this adage? Reply from …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Death Is Nature’s Way of Telling You to Slow Down”
Nelson Mandela? Pliny the Elder? Daniel Wilson? Elbert Anderson Young? Robert H. Goddard? Robert Heinlein? Norton Juster? Paul Eldridge? Question for Quote Investigator: Politicians, journalists, pundits, and self-help authors are fond of the following inspirational expression: It always seems impossible, until it is done. The words are usually attributed to the activist, statesman, and Nobel …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done”
H. G. Wells? Barbara Wootton? Lawrence R. Klein? Stanley Kramer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: If you have ever experienced the manuscript editing process as an editor or an editee you should fully comprehend this quotation: No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft. The above remark is …
Robert Benchley? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The Broadway play “Abie’s Irish Rose” opened in 1922 and ran for more than five years which was a record-breaking achievement at the time. The writer and future actor Robert Benchley was the drama critic at “Life” magazine, and apparently he detested the production. Every week he crafted …
Albert Einstein? Philippa? Fluffy Flapper? James Russell? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The modern traveler may encounter dangerous drivers who are texting while driving. But another risky behavior has been occurring on roadways for many decades: kissing while driving. The brilliant physicist Albert Einstein supposedly said: Any man who can drive safely while kissing …
J. R. R. Tolkien? Arthur C. Clarke? C. S. Lewis? China Miéville? Michael Moorcock? Neil Gaiman Question for Quote Investigator: Today, the genres of science fiction and fantasy are ascendant in popular culture. But detractors have long complained that works in these domains are escapist, and critics have asserted that the literary values displayed are …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Who Are the People Most Opposed to Escapism? Jailors!”
Robert Anderson? William Goodhart? Sam Taylor? Israel Horovitz? John Guare? Sherwood Anderson? Ron Dante? Norman Mailer? Question for Quote Investigator: Trying to build a career in the entertainment industry is precarious. One play, movie, or album might be a huge and lucrative hit for an artist, but the next project might be a complete money-losing …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Can Make a Killing in the Theater, But Not a Living”
John Greenleaf Whittier? Margaret E. Sangster? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, I came across a heartfelt short poem titled “Happy New Year” containing the following line: The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. The verse was attributed to the prominent nineteenth-century poet John Greenleaf Whittier who …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Joy That You Give to Others Is the Joy That Comes Back to You”
John Dennis? Alexander Pope? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: To steal someone’s thunder means to take an idea, a strategy, or a policy created by another person and use it advantageously. It can also mean to grab attention by anticipating and pre-empting the strategy of another. This figurative phrase supposedly originated with an angry remark …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: They Will Not Let My Play Run, But Steal My Thunder”