Robert Benchley? Irvin Cobb? Will Rogers? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A variety of quips have been credited to the great wit and stylish film actor Robert Benchley, but I don’t see his name very often on this website. Bartlett’s Book of Anecdotes contains a story that illustrates his sharp humor. Benchley was attending a …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: To Err is Human; To Really Foul Things Up Requires a Computer
Paul Ehrlich? Alexander Pope? Senator Soaper? Bill Vaughan? Agatha Christie? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I am reading your blog and that shows I am not a Luddite, but computers can be very exasperating. One of my favorite quotations on this topic is the following: To err is human, but to really foul things up …
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Quote Origin: The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing
John F. Kennedy? Edmund Burke? R. Murray Hyslop? Charles F. Aked? John Stuart Mill? Question for Quote Investigator: Here is a challenge for you. I have been reading the wonderful book “The Quote Verifier” by Ralph Keyes, and he discusses the mixed-up quotations that President John F. Kennedy sometimes declaimed in his speeches. Here is …
Dialogue Origin: “I Simply Can’t Bear Fools” “Apparently, Your Mother Could”
Dorothy Parker? An Old Farmer? A Young Newspaper Editor? Bennett Cerf? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently when a friend delivered a clever retort I told her it was worthy of Dorothy Parker, but she did not recognize the name. I love Parker’s witticisms and am sad that her fame is going into eclipse. The prominent …
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Quote Origin: Whatever is Not Nailed Down is Mine and Whatever I Can Pry Loose is Not Nailed Down
Collis Huntington? Richard Ballinger? David Starr Jordan? Upton Sinclair? Question for Quote Investigator: Collis Huntington was one of the top railroad tycoons in the 1800s. His business skills helped to build the first transcontinental railroad in the United States and many other rail links. But his detractors considered him ruthless and greedy. These negative traits …
Quote Origin: A Collision at Sea Can Ruin Your Entire Day
Thucydides? W. B. ‘Bill’ Hayler? Horowitz’ First Law? Question for Quote Investigator: I once served on a ship that had a brass plaque on the bridge engraved with the following: A collision at sea can ruin your whole day. This comes across as a modern sardonic saying, and I was surprised to read the name …
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Quote Origin: There Are Things Known, and Things Unknown, and In Between Are the Doors
Jim Morrison? Ray Manzarek? Aldous Huxley? William Blake? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the best rock groups in history is The Doors, and its legendary front man Jim Morrison was one of the greatest rock stars ever. That is my opinion. But I am sending you this message because I want your opinion concerning …
Quote Origin: Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Do Figure
Carroll D. Wright? Mark Twain? Charles H. Grosvenor? James G. Blaine? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I hope you will be able to settle a disagreement between friends concerning the following quotation: Figures don’t lie, but liars figure. My friend believes that this saying originated with Samuel Clemens otherwise known as Mark Twain. I think …
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Quote Origin: Writing About Music is Like Dancing About Architecture
Laurie Anderson? Steve Martin? Frank Zappa? Martin Mull? Elvis Costello? Thelonius Monk? Question for Quote Investigator: I have a difficult riddle for you. A mailing list I belong to has discussed the following quotation several times during the past ten years, and the question of its origin has never been satisfactorily resolved. Writing about music …
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Quote Origin: If You Want Anything Said Ask a Man, Want Anything Done Ask a Woman
Margaret Thatcher? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I have been trying to learn about a statement supposedly said by Margaret Thatcher who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1980s. The version I was told is: If you want a speech made you should ask a man, but if you want something …
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