Tracing Quotations
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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Future Is Not What It Used To Be”
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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Those Who Mind Don’t Matter, and Those Who Matter Don’t Mind”
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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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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Aeroplanes and Tanks Are Only Accessories to the Man and the Horse”
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 …
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 …
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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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 …
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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: So I’m Ugly. So What? I Never Saw Anyone Hit with His Face”
P. T. Barnum? Britney Spears? George Herbert? Jane Russell? W. Clement Stone? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Norman Vincent Peale? Les Brown? John McEnroe? Question for Quote Investigator: There exists a collection of sayings that uses celestial bodies to illustrate advice about setting goals. Here are three examples: The moon and sun are impressive objects in the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If I Shoot at the Sun, I May Hit a Star”