Tracing Quotations
Dorothy Parker? Wilson Mizner? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States, and his highly reserved character in social settings led to the nickname “Silent Cal”. A few years after his death in 1933 two similar anecdotes began to circulate about the spoken reaction to the news …
Continue reading “Dialogue Origin: “He Is Dead.” “How Can They Tell?””
Henry Kissinger? M. Z. Remsburg? James Thurber? Ann Landers? Robert Orben? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a joke about the uneasy relationship between the sexes that has been told for decades: Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There’s too much fraternizing with the enemy. In the 1970s this statement was …
Ambrose Bierce? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a comically acerbic remark about elections that is often attributed to the famous cynic Ambrose Bierce: An election is nothing more than the advanced auction of stolen goods. Several of my friends have told me that these are actually the words of the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Every Election Is a Sort of Advance Auction Sale of Stolen Goods”
Winston Churchill? Abraham Lincoln? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill once famously exhorted an audience to “never give in”. There is another saying attributed to him about perseverance. Here are three versions: 1) Success is the ability to move from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm. 2) Success is going from …
Plato? Aubert J. Clark? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher and sage Plato: The most effective kind of education is that a child should play among lovely things. Although this quotation is popular with many educators I have never seen a proper citation. Would you please …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Child Should Play Amongst Lovely Things”
William Shakespeare? Mark Twain? Oscar Wilde? Winston Churchill? Abby Buchanan Longstreet? Frank Fay? Pierre de Roman? Joey Adams? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There exists a collection of similar jokes based on word play and the terms: battle, armed, wit, and half-wit. Here are some examples: 1) I would challenge you to a battle of …
Michelangelo? John Ruskin? George F. Pentecost? Boys’ Life Magazine? Orison Swett Marden? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is an unlikely tale about the brilliant Renaissance artist Michelangelo. He was asked about the difficulties that he must have encountered in sculpting his masterpiece David. But he replied with an unassuming and comical description of his …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Just Chip Away Everything That Doesn’t Look Like David”
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Muriel Strode? Fred V. Hawley? Andrew Taylor Still? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A powerful inspirational quote about choosing your own destiny is often attributed to the notable philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here are two versions: Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Will Go Where There Is No Path, and I Will Leave a Trail”
William Shakespeare? Pablo Picasso? David Viscott? Joy Golliver? Emilio Santini? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular adage presents a fascinating answer to a perennial philosophical question about the significance of life: The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. This statement is often attributed …
Victor Hugo? Oscar Wilde? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a popular humorous anecdote about an exchange of letters between Victor Hugo and his publisher shortly after the publication of “Les Misérables”. Each message consisted of only a single character. Are you familiar with this story? Recently, I heard a version of the tale …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Briefest Correspondence: Question Mark? Exclamation Mark!”