Oscar Wilde? Richard Le Gallienne? Reverend Sydney Smith? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the more outrageous remarks attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde concerned missionaries, cannibals, and the supply of food. Did Wilde really make this facetious remark? Reply from Quote Investigator: Oscar Wilde died in 1900, and the earliest evidence located …
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Quote Origin: Wagner Has Some Beautiful Moments But Terrible Quarter-Hours
Critic: Gioachino Rossini? Mr. Archer? Charles Gounod? Apocryphal? Criticized: Richard Wagner? Signor Tamberlik? François Rabelais? M. Chelles? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent Italian composer Gioachino Rossini reportedly delivered an amusingly harsh assessment of the famous German composer Richard Wagner. Here are three versions: 1) Wagner’s operas contain wonderful moments but terrible half hours. 2) …
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Quote Origin: A Teacher Is Never a Giver of “Truth”; He Is a Guide, a Pointer to the Truth
Bruce Lee? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Would you please help me to trace a statement attributed to the charismatic superstar martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. The first phrase in the quotation presented Lee’s viewpoint on education and mentoring: A teacher is never a giver of truth . . . I have seen different …
Quote Origin: Even If What You’re Working On Doesn’t Go Anywhere, It Will Help You with the Next Thing You’re Doing
Cormac McCarthy novelist? Cormac McCarthy musician? Question for Quote Investigator: Everyone has worked on projects with ambitious goals that remained unfulfilled. The following quotation helps me to maintain an optimistic perspective: Even if what you’re working on doesn’t go anywhere, it will help you with the next thing you’re doing. Make yourself available for something …
Quote Origin: Any Time You See Anything Big and Working Well, You Want To Take It Over
Winston Churchill? Clement Attlee? Emmanuel Shinwell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There was an extraordinary and ribald conversation between Winston Churchill and his political opponent Clement Attlee that supposedly took place in the men’s room of the House of Commons. Was this event authentic or apocryphal? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by …
Quote Origin: Ah, Would That I Were Only 80 Years Old!
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? Samuel Rogers? Walter Besant? Helmuth von Moltke the Elder? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? Georges Clemenceau? Question for Quote Investigator: An amusing remark about longevity and libido has been ascribed to septuagenarians, octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians. A venerable gentleman was sitting on a park bench with a friend, and he gazed …
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Quote Origin: I’d Put My Money on the Sun and Solar Energy
Thomas Edison? James D. Newton? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A fascinatingly prescient remark about energy has been attributed to the famous inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison: I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out …
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Quote Origin: Never Believe Anything Until It Is Officially Denied
Otto von Bismarck? Cynical Broker? Hy Sheridan? Claud Cockburn? Edward Cheyfitz? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Cynicism regarding official edicts is not a new phenomenon. Reportedly, the powerful German leader Otto von Bismarck once said: Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied. Yet, these words have also been attributed to more …
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Quote Origin: The Man Who First Flung a Word of Abuse at His Enemy Instead of a Spear Was the Founder of Civilization
Sigmund Freud? An English Writer? Walt Menninger? Joyce Brothers? Robert Byrne? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The control and deflection of violent impulses is central to the development of fruitful social interactions. A cogent remark on this topic has been attributed to the acclaimed father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Here are three versions: 1) The …
Quote Origin: First I Brush My Teeth and Then I Sharpen My Tongue
Dorothy Parker? Oscar Levant? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famously trenchant wit was once asked to describe the daily routine followed after arising: I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth, and then I sharpen my tongue. These words have been attributed to the writer Dorothy Parker and to the pianist comedian …
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