Mark Twain? Joseph D. Eggleston Jr.? Inland Steel Company? Quin Ryan? Abigail Van Buren? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Mark Twain is credited with a marvelous saying about the importance of reading: A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read. I was unable to determine when this saying was created, …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: The Future Is Not What It Used To Be
Yogi Berra? Paul Valéry? Laura Riding? Robert Graves? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am interested in a saying that is both humorous and shrewd: The future is not what it used to be. I have seen several other versions of the saying. The phrasing that uses the word “ain’t” is often credited to Yogi …
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Quote Origin: Those Who Mind Don’t Matter, and Those Who Matter Don’t Mind
Theodor Seuss Geisel? Mark Young? Bernard Baruch? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am trying to validate a quotation that is credited to Theodor Geisel who is better known as Dr. Seuss, the popular author of children’s books. I have been unable to determine where the quote appeared. The task is complicated because there are …
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Quote Origin: I Have the Simplest Tastes; I Am Always Satisfied with the Best
Oscar Wilde? Edgar Saltus? Winston Churchill? Randolph Churchill? Lord Birkenhead? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have discovered two very similar quotations that are credited to two very different people. The first is ascribed to the legendary wit Oscar Wilde: I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. The second saying …
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Quote Origin: Aeroplanes and Tanks Are Only Accessories to the Man and the Horse
Field Marshal Douglas Haig? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Horses were used effectively in warfare for thousands of years. On many occasions horse-mounted cavalry units were decisive on the battlefield. But the development of machine guns, barbed wire, and armored tanks dramatically changed military tactics. The quotation I am interested in has been ascribed to …
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Quote Origin: The Great Use of a Life Is to Spend It for Something That Outlasts It
William James? Ralph Barton Perry? Henry James? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have been working to confirm the source and accuracy of a quotation that is attributed to the famous philosopher and educator William James. Here are three versions: A version of this saying was listed in the Wikipedia entry for James, but more …
Quote Origin: It Takes Courage for a Person to Listen to His Own Goodness and Act On It
Pablo Casals? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I am hoping you will be interested in researching the following quote: Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what the world needs most. It is not complicated but takes …
Quote Origin: Shake Was a Dramatist of Note; He Lived by Writing Things to Quote
Shake? William Shakespeare? Mulleary? Goethe? Henry Cuyler Bunner? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: While studying English in school I heard the following humorous rhyme about The Bard of Avon: Shakespeare was a dramatist of note who lived by writing things to quote. These words are from a longer poem, but I have not been able …
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Dialogue Origin: “You Look Nice and Cool” “Thanks! You Don’t Look So Hot Yourself”
Yogi Berra? Babe Herman? Department Store Sales Woman? Young Student? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: My favorite quotation from Yogi Berra was said when he was introduced to a beautiful model after a baseball game. She complimented him, and his fumbling reply was unintentionally funny: She said, “You look so nice and cool in that …
Quote Origin: So I’m Ugly. So What? I Never Saw Anyone Hit with His Face
Yogi Berra? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: While looking through a book of baseball’s greatest quotations I came across this hilarious reply from Yogi Berra to someone who criticized his appearance: So I’m ugly. So what? I never saw anyone hit with his face. Some of the sayings credited to Yogi are bogus, but I …
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