Groucho Marx? Ted Atkinson? Jimmy Husson? Jim Brewer ? Mary Stuart? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: You have researched some quotes credited to Groucho Marx, so I am hoping that you will be able to look into a saying that interests me. I work in a library and have long enjoyed the following quip: Outside of …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
And the Sea Will Grant Each Man New Hope, As Sleep Brings Dreams of Home
Christopher Columbus? Larry Ferguson? John McTiernan? Dear Quote Investigator: One of the best action-adventure films of the 1990s in my opinion is “The Hunt for Red October” which largely takes place on three submarines. The movie ends with a poignant quotation due to Christopher Columbus that is delivered by screen virtuoso Sean Connery. Captain Marko …
Continue reading “And the Sea Will Grant Each Man New Hope, As Sleep Brings Dreams of Home”
How Could I Feel Like a Hero When Only Five Men in My Platoon of 45 Survived?
Ira Hayes? James Bradley? John Bradley? Rene Gagnon? Fictionalized? Dear Quote Investigator: One of the men who appeared in the famous flag-raising photograph taken on Iwo Jima during WWII was invited to the White House when he returned to the United States. The following 2005 news article describes a heart-rending comment that was supposedly said …
Continue reading “How Could I Feel Like a Hero When Only Five Men in My Platoon of 45 Survived?”
A Master in the Art of Living Makes Little Distinction Between His Work and His Play
James Michener? Zen Buddhist saying? L.P. Jacks? Dear Quote Investigator: I have been deeply moved by an inspirational passage that I thought was written by a Zen Buddhist master: The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, …
I was the Toast of Two Continents: Greenland and Australia
Dorothy Parker? Robert Benchley? Frank Sullivan? Dear Quote Investigator: The writer Dorothy Parker was famous for her clever and barbed witticisms. Her remarks were often aimed at others, but sometimes she laughed at herself with a self-deprecating comment. I particularly enjoy the statement she made when asked about her fame: Yes, I once was the …
Continue reading “I was the Toast of Two Continents: Greenland and Australia”
The Harder I Practice, the Luckier I Get
Gary Player? Arnold Palmer? Jerry Barber? Jack Youngblood? Lee Trevino? Ethel Merman? L. Frank Baum? Dear Quote Investigator: I am a fan of the golfing legend Gary Player, and the Wikipedia article about him says he: “Coined one of the most quoted aphorisms of post-War sport”: The harder you practice, the luckier you get. Is …
Confused on a Higher Level and About More Important Things
Enrico Fermi? Bernt Øksendal? Earl C. Kelley? Dear Quote Investigator: My favorite quotation should resonate with anyone who has tried to master a difficult subject: We have not succeeded in answering all our problems. The answers we have found only serve to raise a whole set of new questions. In some ways we feel we …
Continue reading “Confused on a Higher Level and About More Important Things”
Laws are Like Sausages. Better Not to See Them Being Made
Otto von Bismarck? John Godfrey Saxe? Claudius O. Johnson? Dear Quote Investigator: The quotation of Otto von Bismarck about laws and sausages has been a favorite of mine for years. I found several versions using Google, and here are two: Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made. To retain respect …
Continue reading “Laws are Like Sausages. Better Not to See Them Being Made”
Never Interfere With an Enemy While He’s in the Process of Destroying Himself
Napoleon Bonaparte? Haley Barbour? Woodrow Wilson? Dear Quote Investigator: I saw Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi on television recently and he recited a quotation that he attributed to Napoleon [HBCNN] [HBFOX]: You know, Napoleon said ‘Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ Is this an accurate quote? Could you …
Continue reading “Never Interfere With an Enemy While He’s in the Process of Destroying Himself”
Legal Advice: Pound the Facts, Pound the Law, Pound the Table
Carl Sandburg? Alan Dershowitz? Jerome Michael? Jacob J. Rosenblum? Oliver Wendell Holmes? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A few years ago I saw a famous quotation about legal strategy attributed to a celebrity professor:[ref] 2007 March 4, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Pounding the Table About Border Episode by Ruben Navarrette Jr., Page E3, Section: Weekly Review, Fort …
Continue reading “Legal Advice: Pound the Facts, Pound the Law, Pound the Table”