Muhammad Ali? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a statement attributed to Muhammad Ali about the natural changes in viewpoint an individual experiences during decades of growth and maturation. Ali stated that a person who does not change his or her perspective over a long period of time has wasted the years. Are you …
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Quote Origin: If People Don’t Want to Come, Nothing Will Stop Them
Yogi Berra? Sol Hurok? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Baseball luminary Yogi Berra is famous for comical pronouncements that contain a kernel of wisdom. One of my favorites is about fan attendance at baseball games: If people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them. Recently, I heard that …
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Quote Origin: Now We Sit Through Shakespeare in Order to Recognize the Quotations
Orson Welles? Oscar Wilde? James Aswell? Richard Lederer? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The influence of William Shakespeare’s works on the English language has been enormous; consider the following phrases: To thine own self be trueIt was Greek to meBrevity is the soul of witTo be, or not to beNot a mouse stirring The cultural …
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Quote Origin: Creativity Is Allowing Yourself to Make Mistakes. Art Is Knowing Which Ones to Keep
Scott Adams? Ricky Gervais? Douglas Adams? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Using creativity to solve a problem or create an artwork requires openness, originality, and imagination. Yet, the process inevitably produces some missteps and gaffes. That is why the following is my favorite quotation: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which …
Quote Origin: Before You Diagnose Yourself with Depression or Low Self-Esteem…
Sigmund Freud? William Gibson? @debihope? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a saying about maintaining emotional health that is both heartfelt and sardonic. The words have been attributed to the famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the award-winning science fiction author William Gibson. Here are two versions: Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low …
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Quote Origin: If You Can Read This, You’ve Come Too Close
Dorothy Parker? Lillian Hellman? Ford Model T Label? Frank Sullivan? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The witty author Dorothy Parker was once asked to suggest an epitaph for her tombstone. Over the years she crafted several different candidates, and I am interested in the following saying which can be expressed in multiple ways: If …
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Quote Origin: The Dictionary Is the Only Place Where Success Comes Before Work
Vince Lombardi? Mark Twain? Arthur Brisbane? Vidal Sassoon? Stubby Currence? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is an astute saying about gaining achievements through effort that deftly refers to the alphabetical order of a dictionary. Here are two versions: 1) Success comes before work only in the dictionary. 2) The dictionary is the only place …
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Quote Origin: Don’t Like to Write, But Like Having Written
Dorothy Parker? George R. R. Martin? Frank Norris? Robert Louis Stevenson? Cornelia Otis Skinner? Clive Barnes? Jack Klugman? Gloria Steinem? Hedley Donovan? Question for Quote Investigator: Writing is an arduous task for many skilled authors. There is a popular family of sayings that contrasts the elation of accomplishment with the struggle of composition: 1) I …
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Quote Origin: When a Subject Becomes Totally Obsolete We Make It a Required Course
Peter Drucker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: While perusing a book of quotations categorized as outrageous I saw a remark about college education attributed to the famous business guru Peter Drucker: When a subject becomes totally obsolete we make it a required course. I haven’t been able to determine where or when this statement appeared. …
Quote Origin: Humor Can Be Dissected, as a Frog Can, But the Thing Dies in the Process
Mark Twain? E. B. White? Katharine S. White? André Maurois? Marty Feldman? Question for Quote Investigator: A cogent simile about the cerebral examination of humor has been attributed to three clever individuals: humorist Mark Twain, children’s author E. B. White, and French author André Maurois. Here are four versions: Analyzing humor is a bit like …