Tracing Quotations
George Bernard Shaw? Howard Dietz? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a wonderful anecdote about a meeting between the famous movie studio chief Samuel Goldwyn and the renowned playwright George Bernard Shaw. Goldwyn flew to England to convince Shaw to write material for him to use in films. Goldwyn emphasized the high quality and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Are Only Interested in Art and I Am Only Interested in Money”
William Butler Yeats? Plutarch? Socrates? Plato? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a superb quotation about education that I have encountered many times. Here is a collection of examples with attributions that I have been accumulating. None of the examples came with citations: What do you think? Who should properly be given credit, and …
Dorothy Parker? Bill Miller? Frank Dolan? Sid Ziff? Bennett Cerf? Groucho Marx? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The most scathingly hilarious quip about a novel is usually credited to the famous wit Dorothy Parker who purportedly included it in a book review: This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be …
Mark Twain? Gay Zenola MacLaren? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following compelling advice is credited to Mark Twain in self-help books and on websites. It is valuable guidance in my opinion: Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Keep Away from People Who Try to Belittle Your Ambitions”
Groucho Marx? Henry G. Strauss? Phil Harris? Joe E. Lewis? Anonymous? Topic: Smoking? Drinking? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of jokes about smoking, drinking, and reading. The quips certainly do not reflect the actions of role models, but they are funny: When did this family originate? Were the initial gags about smoking …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When I Read About the Evils of Smoking, I Gave Up Reading”
Alfred Kinsey? Richard Brinsley Sheridan? Xaviera Hollander? William Burroughs? Sigmund Freud? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Years ago I read a statement credited to the researcher Alfred Kinsey who was famous for producing the Kinsey Reports on sexual behavior. I do not remember the exact phrasing but the expression was similar to this: The only …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Only Unnatural Sex Act Is That Which One Cannot Perform”
Albert Einstein? Cell Phone Critics? Pranksters? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A friend sent me a link to a message on a website with the title: “The day that Albert Einstein feared may have finally arrived”. The message showed eight pictures of groups of people looking intently at cell phone screens. The people were ignoring …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction”
Carl Sagan? Newsweek Reporters? Sharon Begley? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Today on the website of a software developer I saw an inspiring quotation that was credited to the famous astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan: Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. I would like to use this quotation also, but I have …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Somewhere, Something Incredible Is Waiting To Be Known”
Coco Chanel? Yves Saint Laurent? Diana Vreeland? Pier Luigi Nervi? Tom Stoppard? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The fashion designer Coco Chanel was brilliant and innovative. I am interested in a motto that she may have originated: Fashion passes; style remains. When did she say this? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match for …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Fashion Passes; Style Remains”
Winston Churchill? Theodore Roosevelt? Zig Ziglar? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I work in an office where they hang inspirational posters on the wall. The caption of one sign credits the following words to the master orator Winston Churchill: Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. I think that the person who …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Attitude Is a Little Thing That Makes a Big Difference”