Warren Buffett? Samuel Johnson? Maria Edgeworth? Bertrand Russell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I recall seeing a lecture by the famed investor Warren Buffett during which he cautioned his audience to avoid falling into self-destructive behavior patterns. He used this eloquent analysis: The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: My Only Regret Is That I Have Not Drunk More Champagne In My Life
John Maynard Keynes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Quotations that were supposedly spoken by famous people shortly before death are notoriously unreliable. I heard that the prominent economist John Maynard Keynes on his deathbed was asked whether he had any regrets, and he said something like: I should have drunk more champagne. I only wish …
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Quote Origin: Don’t Keep Forever on the Public Road. Leave the Beaten Track Behind Occasionally and Dive Into the Woods
Alexander Graham Bell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant inventor Alexander Graham Bell helped to create the first practical telephone. He is often credited with the following inspiring statement: Don’t keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods. You will be certain to find something …
Quote Origin: For Attractive Lips, Speak Words of Kindness
Audrey Hepburn? Sam Levenson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Audrey Hepburn was a magnificent movie star, and she was also a well-known worker for humanitarian causes. On various websites I have seen a collection of sayings called “Time Tested Beauty Tips” that have been attributed to her. The first tip says: For attractive lips, speak …
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Quote Origin: Nostalgia Is Not What It Used To Be
Yogi Berra? Simone Signoret? Peter De Vries? Tommy Handley & Ronald Frankau? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Holidays sometimes make me nostalgic. They also remind me of the following clever quip: Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. These words are often attributed to the famed baseball quotemaster Yogi Berra, but recently I learned of …
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Quote Origin: When I Was Younger, I Could Remember Anything, Whether It Had Happened or Not
Mark Twain? Albert Bigelow Paine? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Mark Twain formulated a wonderful expression about the fallibility of memory as one grows older. Here is the beginning of his humorous saying: When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not. My own memory may be failing because I …
Quote Origin: If Tetris Has Taught Me Anything, It’s That Errors Pile Up and Accomplishments Disappear
@AlexeSixx? @_NanooChii? @ Soumi_S? @MissMagdo? @damana? Question for Quote Investigator: I have spent hours playing the quasi-hypnotic computer game Tetris. The following astutely funny remark reveals the subversive lesson of the game: If Tetris has taught me anything, it’s that errors pile up and accomplishments disappear. I have seen this statement tweeted and retweeted many …
Quote Origin: I Used To Be Snow White, But I Drifted
Mae West? A College Student? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The actress, screenwriter, and sex symbol Mae West was well-known for delivering double entendres. Here are two examples of clever lines with multiple meanings: I was once pure as snow, but then I drifted.I used to be Snow White but I drifted. Did Mae West …
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Quote Origin: Comedy Is Tragedy Plus Time
Carol Burnett? Woody Allen? Tig Notaro? Steve Allen? Lenny Bruce? Bob Newhart? Thomas Hardy? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some humorists are able to transform disastrous or mortifying episodes in their own lives into hilarious comedy routines. Usually some time must pass before a painful memory is distant enough that it can be transmuted into …
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Quote Origin: It Isn’t the Mountain Ahead That Wears You Out; It Is the Grain of Sand in Your Shoe
Muhammad Ali? Robert W. Service? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation about perseverance is attributed to the famed boxer Muhammad Ali: It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe. While I was researching this phrase I came across another version that was attributed to …