Tracing Quotations
Mark Twain? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I have to present a speech soon, and I would like to use a quotation attributed to Mark Twain: It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. The intended audience has the background to know that impromptu means without planning or preparation, and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Three Weeks to Prepare a Good Impromptu Speech”
Abraham Lincoln? Ambrose Burnside? Charles Fair? Question for Quote Investigator: One of the worst military strategists in history was a Civil War general named Ambrose Burnside (sideburns are named after his whiskers). After a military fiasco called the Battle of the Crater, Abraham Lincoln relieved him of command and supposedly said: Only Burnside could have …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Defeat from the Jaws of Victory”
Kay Boyle? John Barth? Cormac McCarthy? Louis Menand? Question for Quote Investigator: I have been reading about creative writing programs because I am seriously considering attending one. Recently, I encountered a quotation from the writer and educator Kay Boyle which stunned me. Her comment appeared in an article in The New Yorker magazine titled “Show …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: All Creative-Writing Programs Ought to be Abolished by Law”
Bill Clinton? John Quincy Adams? Question for Quote Investigator: Reading the news and blogs of today emphasizes the fact that political discourse can be extremely brutal. I was reminded of Bill Clinton’s lament when he discussed his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and said there was a harsh new form of politics based …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Politics of Personal Destruction”
Warren Buffett? Peter Lynch? Question for Quote Investigator: In 2008 I read an interview with the super-investor Warren Buffett in which he said you should put your money into a company that can be run by an idiot because eventually it will be run by an idiot. But that advice sounded familiar to me. Did …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Go for a Business that Any Idiot Can Run”
Mark Twain? William Gladstone? A Northern Gael? F. W. Payn? Sam Loates? The Allens? Harry Leon Wilson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I love to play golf, but sometimes when I am playing poorly I am tempted to simply walk the course and get some exercise. When I mentioned this to a friend he told …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Golf is a Good Walk Spoiled”
Albert Einstein? William Bruce Cameron? Hilliard Jason? Stephen Ross? Lord Platt? George Pickering? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently I saw a comic strip titled “Baby Einstein” that contained a few quotations that are often attributed to Albert Einstein. I think the following saying is very insightful: Not everything that counts can be counted, and not …
Harry Truman? Samuel Gallu? Gordon Gekko? Question for Quote Investigator: I love dogs and live near Washington D.C. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to former President Harry Truman who experienced some bruising political battles and said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Could you please investigate this quote? Reply …
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Joseph Stalin? Leonard Lyons? Beilby Porteus? Kurt Tucholsky? Erich Maria Remarque? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a vivid statement that typifies a heartless attitude toward human mortality: A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic. These words are often attributed to the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, but I have not …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Single Death Is a Tragedy; A Million Deaths Is a Statistic”
Channing Pollock? George Raft? Tug McGraw? Stan Bowles? George Best? Question for Quote Investigator: George Raft was my favorite film star from the Golden Age of Hollywood. He often played gangsters and was memorable in “Some Like it Hot”. Raft was known for his high income in Tinseltown and for his wild profligacy. The quotation …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Part Went for Liquor, Part for Women; The Rest I Spent Foolishly”