Quote Origin: Whenever a Friend Succeeds, a Little Something in Me Dies

Gore Vidal? Wilfrid Sheed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a mordant expression that reflects the corrosive nature of jealousy. Here are four versions: 1) Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies. 2) Every time a friend succeeds I die a little. 3) When a friend succeeds, a small part of …

Quote Origin: You’ll Worry Less About What People Think of You When You Realize How Seldom They Do

David Foster Wallace? Olin Miller? Lee Traveler? Ethel Barrett? Mark Twain? John Steinbeck? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An astute quotation about insecurity is often attributed to the novelist and teacher David Foster Wallace: You’ll worry less about what people think about you when you realize how seldom they do. Versions of this statement have …

Quote Origin: Education Is What Remains After You Have Forgotten Everything You Learned In School

Albert Einstein? B. F. Skinner? Edouard Herriot? C. F. Thwing? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Agnes F. Perkins? James Bryant Conant? E. F. L. Wood? George Savile? Lord Halifax? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: My question concerns a provocative aphorism about memory, schooling, and curriculum. Here are four example statements that can be grouped together: 1) Culture …

Quote Origin: The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off

Gloria Steinem? Joe Klaas? Anne Kristine Stuart? David Icke? Bill Cosby? Erin Brockovich? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement is sometimes used as a rallying cry by activists: The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. The words are typically attributed to the feminist Gloria Steinem. Would you …

Quote Origin: Choose a Job You Love, and You Will Never Have To Work a Day in Your Life

Confucius? Arthur Szathmary? An Old-Timer? Janet Lambert-Moore? Harvey Mackay? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I assist students in the selection of accurate and properly credited quotations for the school yearbook. One student would like to use a popular adage about career choice: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a …

Quote Origin: The Biggest Problem in Communication Is the Illusion That It Has Taken Place

George Bernard Shaw? William H. Whyte? Pierre Martineau? Joseph Coffman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am copy editing a book, and the author would like to include an insightful remark about communication. Here are four versions: 1) The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. 2) The greatest …

Quote Origin: Nobody Goes There Anymore, It’s Too Crowded

Yogi Berra? Rags Ragland? Suzanne Ridgeway? John McNulty? Ukie Sherin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An amusing anecdote states that baseball great Yogi Berra was once asked whether he wished to have dinner at a highly-regarded restaurant, and he replied with a remark combining wisdom with contradiction: Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded. Is …

Anecdote Origin: “If I Were Your Wife I’d Put Poison in Your Tea!” “If I Were Your Husband I’d Drink It”

Winston Churchill? Nancy Astor? Marshall Pinckney Wilder? Patrick O’Dowd? David Lloyd George? George Bernard Shaw? Groucho Marx? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a famous anecdote in which an exasperated individual fantasizes aloud about giving poison to another person. The sharp rejoinder is surprising and hilarious. Usually the two named participants are Nancy Astor …

Quote Origin: Know Your Lines and Don’t Bump Into the Furniture

Spencer Tracy? Noel Coward? Alfred Lunt? Lynn Fontanne? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some actors engage in elaborate rituals when preparing to perform a role. But the funniest advice about acting that I have ever heard avoids all pretensions. Here are three versions: 1) Speak clearly, and don’t bump into the furniture. 2) Learn your …

Quote Origin: The Ultimate Purpose of an Economy Is to Produce More Consumer Goods

Arthur F. Burns? Raymond J. Saulnier? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One criticism of modern economies asserts that consumer goods are being wastefully over-produced and human happiness has become disconnected from the possession of superfluous material objects. These critics contend that individuals and economic architects should concentrate on creating positive and constructive experiences and deemphasize …