Tracing Quotations
Edwin Lutyens? Arthur Wimperis? Geoffrey Willans? John Poole? Malcolm Sterling Mackinlay? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A wit at a restaurant was served a plate of cod which looked unappetizing. The rejected fish inspired this memorably hilarious pun: A piece of cod which passeth all understanding. The wordplay was based on a biblical verse: The …
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Mao Zedong? Zhou Enlai? Eduard Shevardnadze? Andre Malraux? Anonymous Official? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote claims that a high-level U.S. politician once met with a Chinese official during the 1970s, and they began to talk about the French Revolution. When the Chinese official was asked about the impact of this momentous historical …
Douglas Adams? Spike Milligan? Terry Pratchett? Charlie Bates? Harry Harrison? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Prominent humorists have been credited with statements from the following family of jokes about collisions. Here are three examples: (1) Falling doesn’t hurt you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.(2) It isn’t the speed that kills people; it’s the …
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Mark Twain? Merle Johnson? Albert Bigelow Paine? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous humorist apparently said something like the following about taxation. Here are two versions: (1) “What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector?” “The taxidermist takes only your skin.” (2) The difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist is …
John Maynard Keynes? Dennis Gabor? Alan L. Mackay? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A cynical taxpayer crafted the following remark: The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward. This statement has been credited to the famous economist John Maynard Keynes, but I am skeptical because I have never …
Thomas Robert Dewar? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A wit once said that he disliked paying income taxes, but the alternative of not paying income taxes was even worse. No payment implied no income, and that would be a terrible situation. This quip has been attributed to Scottish whisky distiller Thomas Robert Dewar. Would you …
John Updike? Henry Bech? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: People who love living in New York City often believe it is the epicenter of the world. Here are two versions of a statement displaying this attitude: (1) The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding. …
Sophia Loren? Sophia Bush? Sofia Scicolone? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A person in the public eye was asked about dieting to remain svelte, and the fun-loving reply highlighted the importance of taking pleasure in life: I’d much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size zero. This statement has been attributed to …
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Eugène Sue? Klemens von Metternich? Charles de Talleyrand? Otto von Bismarck? Susannah Frances Reynolds? Roman Proverb? Klingon Proverb? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Individuals who seek revenge often find that careful planning and the elapse of time are required to obtain justice. The following proverb is popular with those who pursue vengeance. Here are four …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Revenge Is a Dish Best Eaten Cold”
George Bernard Shaw? Henrietta Clopath? Sidney Trefusis? Charles Baudelaire? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems are now capable of rapidly constructing images, videos, 3d-objects, and text. The current output displays flaws, but the quality and variety continues to improve. Artists are experiencing a volatile mixture of wonder, anticipation, uncertainty, fear, …