Robert Browning? Johann Paul Friedrich Richter? Jakob Böhme? Johann Gottlieb Fichte? Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel? Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular play “The Barretts of Wimpole Street” dramatized the compelling love story between the poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. The work was first performed in the 1930s and was later …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Improper Words: Have You Been Searching for Them?
Samuel Johnson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: After Samuel Johnson published his masterful dictionary of the English language he was reportedly approached by two prudish individuals: “Mr. Johnson, we are glad that you have omitted the indelicate and objectionable words from your new dictionary.” “What, my dears! Have you been searching for them?” Recently, I …
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Quote Origin: I’m as Pure as the Driven Slush
Tallulah Bankhead? Joan Collins? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Two vibrant actresses have been connected to a satirical statement about purity: Tallulah Bankhead and Joan Collins. I think that the statement was made as a humorous self-description. But it may have been made as a criticism. Here are two versions: I’m as pure as the …
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Quote Origin: The Intuitive Mind Is a Sacred Gift and the Rational Mind Is a Faithful Servant
Albert Einstein? Bob Samples? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A well-known scholar delivered a lively and appealing lecture online which included the following quotation. The words were attributed to Einstein, but I am skeptical: The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that …
Quote Origin: “To Be Is To Do” “To Do Is To Be” “Do Be Do Be Do”
Kurt Vonnegut? Frank Sinatra? Jean-Paul Sartre? Dale Carnegie? Bud Crew? Socrates? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The 1982 novel “Deadeye Dick” by the popular author Kurt Vonnegut mentioned the following piece of graffiti: “To be is to do”—Socrates.“To do is to be”—Jean-Paul Sartre.“Do be do be do”—Frank Sinatra. I think this tripartite list first appeared …
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Quote Origin: Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba
Napoleon Bonaparte? J.T.R. of Baltimore? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous palindrome is attributed to the renowned French leader Napoleon Bonaparte who was once exiled to the island of Elba: Able was I ere I saw Elba. Supposedly Napoleon said this reversible phrase to Barry Edward O’Meara who was his physician during his captivity …
Quote Origin: He’s a Writer for the Ages—For the Ages of Four to Eight
Dorothy Parker? George Jean Nathan? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The trenchant prose of Dorothy Parker has always impressed me. Reportedly she once lacerated a writer who was receiving a superfluity of undeserved accolades with the following: He is a writer for the ages — the ages of four to eight. Is this Parker’s joke? …
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Quote Origin: If Men Could Get Pregnant, Abortion Would Be a Sacrament
Florynce Kennedy? Gloria Steinem? Elderly Irish Taxicab Driver? Germaine Greer? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An incendiary quotation on the topic of abortion has an uncertain authorship. The following words have been attributed to both Florynce Kennedy and Gloria Steinem: If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament. Could you determine who said …
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Quote Origin: Behind Every Great Fortune There Is a Crime
Honoré de Balzac? Mario Puzo? Pierre Mille? Frank P. Walsh? Samuel Merwin? James Henry Yoxall? C. Wright Mills? Jane Bryant Quinn? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The popular 1969 novel “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo recounted the violent tale of a Mafia family, and the epigraph selected by the author was fascinating: Behind every great …
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Quote Origin: Golf: Like Chasing a Quinine Pill Around a Cow Pasture
Winston Churchill? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill played golf for a period of time, but he switched his avocation to painting. The following description of golf is sometimes attributed to him: Like chasing a quinine pill around a cow pasture. Did Churchill use this expression and did he coin it? Reply from …
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