Tracing Quotations
Groucho Marx? Ed Wynn? Jimtown Weekly? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Groucho Marx was the host of a quiz show called “You Bet Your Life” during the 1940s and 50s. Sometimes when a contestant did poorly Groucho would ask an easy question so that the person could win a prize or some money. For example: …
Continue reading “Quiz Question Origin: Who Is Buried in Grant’s Tomb? Answer: Grant!”
George Orwell? Richard Grenier? Rudyard Kipling? Winston Churchill? John Le Carré? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant writer George Orwell authored two of the most powerful and acclaimed political books of the last century: 1984 and Animal Farm. The saying that interests me is usually attributed to him, and there are two popular versions: …
Pablo Picasso? Louis Zukofsky? William Fifield? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Our reliance on computerized systems seems to grow every day. The following mordant quotation has been attributed to Pablo Picasso, the most vital artist of the 20th century: Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. Recently, I was examining a poem by …
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Albert Einstein? Advertising copywriter? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Some people think that Albert Einstein’s name is magical. If they want to convince you of something or sell you something they invoke his revered name to prove that a genius agrees with whatever proposition they are peddling. Here is a collection of statements that the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Compound Interest Is Man’s Greatest Invention”
Ann Landers? Abigail Van Buren? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Samuel Johnson? Malcolm Forbes? Paul Eldridge? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? James D. Miles? Dan Reeves? Question for Quote Investigator: I am attempting to verify the following quotation because it will appear in a forthcoming book, but I have discovered multiple attributions: You can easily judge the character …
Robert Benchley? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the most insightful and humorous quotations about accomplishing tasks is: Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. All the websites and reference books I could find agree that this should be …
Alanis Obomsawin? Prophecy of the Cree Indians? Osage saying? Sakokwenonkwas? Greenpeace? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I recently came across the following stirring proverb on the internet: When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money. After …
Anthony Burgess? Israel Zangwill? Carolyn Wells? Merry-Andrew? Abraham Rotstein? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The proverb “Every dog has his day” is familiar to many, but recently I came across an amusing twist: Every dogma has its day. These words were credited to the English author Anthony Burgess who is probably best known for the …
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? John B. Finch? John Stuart Mill? Abraham Lincoln? Zechariah Chafee, Jr.? Question for Quote Investigator: I am writing a book on the theme of freedom and would like to include a classic quotation about the pragmatic limitations on liberty. My research has identified several versions of this popular saying: The right …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins”
Bette Davis? Leonora Corbett? Kenneth Tynan? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I love the following catty quotation that was said by one Hollywood actor or actress about another performer who had allegedly slept her way to success: She’s the original good time that’s been had by all. Can you tell me who said this …
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