Winston Churchill? Liane Cordes? Liane Cardes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: On two popular websites with large collections of quotations I found an appealing statement ascribed to the famous statesman Winston Churchill: Continuous effort — not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential. No citations were provided, and I have been …
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Quote Origin: Is That a Gun in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Glad to See Me?
Mae West? Aristophanes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Screenwriter and sex symbol Mae West is usually credited with the following ribald line: Is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? But I have seen many variations of this comical remark: Can you determine which joke is the original …
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Quote Origin: Academic Politics Are So Vicious Because the Stakes Are So Small
Henry Kissinger? Wallace Sayre? Charles Frankel? Samuel Johnson? Jesse Unruh? Courtney Brown? Laurence J. Peter? Question for Quote Investigator: The following saying is often attributed to the prominent U.S. foreign policy figure and Nobel laureate Henry Kissinger: Academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small. But I have also seen it …
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Quote Origin: A Short Story Must Have a Single Mood and Every Sentence Must Build Towards It
Edgar Allan Poe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: On a popular website I saw an intriguing list of “Indispensable Writing Tips from Famous Authors”. The following words were attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, the master of mystery and the macabre: A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it. …
Origin of Deathbed Remark: This Is No Time To Be Making New Enemies
Voltaire? Niccolò Machiavelli? Newgate Prisoner? Wilson Mizner? Dying Irishman? Canny Scot? Aging Rock Star? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: While reading speeches given by Nobel Prize recipients I came across an entertaining anecdote about Voltaire from the eminent economist Robert E. Lucas: When Voltaire was dying, in his eighties, a priest in attendance called upon …
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Quote Origin: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again. Then Quit. There’s No Use Being a Damn Fool About It
W. C. Fields? Stephen Leacock? Justin J. Burns? Henry Morgan? George Burns? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A well-known saying about persistence has become an energyless cliché: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The following parody version is usually attributed to the famous comedian W. C. Fields: If at first you don’t …
Quote Origin: Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You
Mary Schmich? Eleanor Roosevelt? Kurt Vonnegut? Baz Luhrmann? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Jane Addams? Mark Toby? Question for Quote Investigator: To achieve personal growth it is sometimes necessary to move outside of a comfort zone. Unjustified fears can constrain exploration and positive development. Here is a saying I find valuable: Do one thing every day that …
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Quote Origin: They Haven’t Done Anything to My Book. It’s Right There on the Shelf
Raymond Chandler? James M. Cain? Alan Moore? William S. Burroughs? Larry Niven? Stephen King? Elmore Leonard? William Faulkner? Owen Sheers? Question for Quote Investigator: I have heard the following anecdote told about Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Stephen King, and Elmore Leonard. A journalist once visited the house of a popular author who had sold …
Quote Origin: A Statue Has Never Been Set Up in Honour of a Critic
Zig Ziglar? Jean Sibelius? Bengt de Törne? Martha Graham? Agnes De Mille? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When the famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar died last year I saw a list of ten quotations ascribed to him. One was about criticism: There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic. I thought this …
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Quote Origin: All Actors Are Cattle
Alfred Hitchcock? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Alfred Hitchcock was one of the greatest movie directors of the twentieth century in my opinion. A controversial quotation about actors has long been attributed to him: All actors are cattle. Did he really say this? Who was he speaking to? Reply from Quote Investigator: There …