Robert Benchley? Mark Twain? Walter Winchell? Groucho Marx? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the funniest quotations about writing is usually credited to the brilliant wit Robert Benchley: It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Dialogue Origin: “Do You Like Kipling?” “I Don’t Know; I’ve Never Kippled Before”
Donald McGill? James Kenneth Stephen? Philip K. Dick? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Graphic artist Donald McGill created one of the most popular postcards of the previous century. The card depicted a man and woman sitting beneath a tree with a book, and the caption said: “Do you like Kipling?” “I don’t know, you naughty …
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Quote Origin: We Cannot Predict the Future, But We Can Invent It
Dennis Gabor? Abraham Lincoln? Ilya Prigogine? Alan Kay? Steven Lisberger? Peter Drucker? Forrest C. Shaklee? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have seen several different versions of an adage about prediction and invention. Here are some examples: These sayings are not identical in meaning, but I think they fit together naturally as a group. Could …
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Quote Origin: If We Should Have to Leave Our Bleached Bones on These Desert Sands in Vain, Then Beware the Anger of the Legions
Marcus Flavinius? Jean Lartéguy? Jean Pouget? Roger Frey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I would like your help in determining the authenticity of an eloquent letter that was supposedly sent by Marcus Flavinius, a centurion, to his cousin in Rome. Flavinius was fighting in a military campaign overseas in the 2nd Century AD, and he …
Quote Origin: Some People Feel the Rain. Others Just Get Wet
Bob Dylan? Bob Marley? Roger Miller? Donald Freeman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I love the following quote, and have used it on my blog: Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet. After researching the origin of the saying, it still remains unclear. Two famous musicians named Bob have each been credited: Bob …
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Quote Origin: It’s Easy to Quit Smoking. I’ve Done It a Thousand Times
Mark Twain? W. C. Fields? Harris Dickson? Barracuda Pete? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I mentioned a joke credited to Mark Twain to a friend recently: It’s easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it hundreds of times. She said that the jest was actually created by the famous comedian W. C. Fields and not Twain. …
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Quote Origin: Lose As If You Like It, and Win As If You Are Used to It
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Eric Mark Golnik? Thomas Hitchcock, Jr.? Thomas Hitchcock, Sr.? F. Ambrose Clark? Rosalind Russell? Jock Whitney? Desi Arnaz? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a quotation about sportsmanship that I would like to learn more about: Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for …
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Quote Origin: No One Can Win at Roulette Unless He Steals Money from the Table While the Croupier Isn’t Looking
Albert Einstein? Nick the Greek? Nicholas Dandolos? Ted Thackrey, Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to a legend in the gambling world Albert Einstein once visited a Las Vegas casino and after observing the action around the roulette wheel he said: You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it. Any …
Quote Origin: Would You Ever Ask a Man that Question?
Hillary Clinton? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I saw on Facebook recently a supposed quotation from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. While visiting some country in Central Asia she was asked by a reporter about fashion and she replied: Would you ever ask a man that question? No details were given about when or where …
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Anecdote Origin: It Will Take Them Ten Years to Prove Me Wrong
Winston Churchill? Paul S. Nadler? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I heard this story many years ago at an economics convention. I’ve contacted the Churchill Archive and a couple of renowned Churchill scholars, and so far the answer seems to be “apocryphal,” as with so many great quotes attributed to the Great Quote Magnet. But …
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