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 …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins
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 …
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Quote Origin: She’s the Original Good Time That’s Been Had By All
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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Quote Origin: If You Want Jobs Then Give These Workers Spoons Instead of Shovels
Milton Friedman? William Aberhart? Walter Augustus Wyckoff? Unemployed Worker? Businessman in China? UK Minister of Agriculture? Question for Quote Investigator:: In 2011 an editorial in the Wall Street Journal mentioned a quotation that apparently is well-known: The famous Milton Friedman line about government ordering people to dig with spoons to employ more people comes to …
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Quote Origin: Three Things Can Happen When You Pass and Two of Them Are Bad
Woody Hayes? Darrell Royal? Bernie Moore? Question for Quote Investigator: It’s football season and I received an email from a friend with a collection of quotations from coaches and players. One of the sayings about passing the ball is credited to Woody Hayes, but I think it should probably be attributed to Darrell Royal, coach …
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Quote Origin: Twenty Years From Now You Will Be More Disappointed By The Things You Didn’t Do Than By The Ones You Did Do
Mark Twain? H. Jackson Brown? Sarah Frances Brown? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The Virgin Galactic company of Richard Branson plans to offer suborbital spaceflights for tourists. The organization put together a beautiful brochure containing the following quotation credited to Mark Twain: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you …
Quote Origin: You Can’t Wait for Inspiration. You Have To Go After It With a Club
Jack London? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I belong to a great group for writers in Florida, and a recent announcement message on our mailing list included a motivational quotation attributed to the author and journalist Jack London: You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. Since London died …
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Quote Origin: A Story Should Have a Beginning, a Muddle and an End
Peter De Vries? Philip Larkin? C. E. Lombardi? Larry Gelbart? Avi’s Young Reader? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When faced with the difficult task of writing effectively some people insist on a guaranteed formula. As a confirmed scribbler I am convinced that there is no formula, but I laughed when I heard this: A story …
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Quote Origin: Writing Is Easy; You Just Open a Vein and Bleed
Thomas Wolfe? Red Smith? Paul Gallico? Friedrich Nietzsche? Ernest Hemingway? Gene Fowler? Jeff MacNelly? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Whenever I have trouble writing I am reminded of a family of sayings which employ a gruesomely expressive metaphor to describe the difficult process of composition. Here are three instances: (1) Writing is easy. You just …
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Quote Origin: Computer Memory: 640K Ought to be Enough for Anyone
Bill Gates? James E. Fawcette? Nancy Andrews? Jerry Pournelle? InfoWorld? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Bill Gates is the one of the richest men in the world, but that does not mean that he correctly foresaw the future. In the early days of the personal computer industry Gates supposedly said the following about the IBM …
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