Author Archives: quoteresearch

Quote Origin: There Are Three Kinds of Lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Mark Twain? Benjamin Disraeli? St. Swithin? Eliza Gutch? Charles Dilke? Charles Stewart Parnell? Robert Giffen? Arthur James Balfour? Francis Bacon? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Statistical analysis can provide deep insights into an issue. Yet, carelessness or duplicity can generate misleading results. A popular cynical adage communicates this mistrust: There are three kinds of lies: …

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Quote Origin: I Had the Syrup But It Wouldn’t Pour

Gertrude Stein? Alice B. Toklas? Glenway Wescott? William Styron? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Whenever I experience difficulty in a creative endeavor like writing or drawing I am reminded of the following expression: I have the syrup, but it won’t pour. The prize-winning author William Styron said something similar to this. Would you please help …

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Quote Origin: The Sea Is the Sea. The Old Man Is an Old Man

Ernest Hemingway? Bernard Berenson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Ernest Hemingway’s classic novella “The Old Man and the Sea” has been exhaustively analyzed by critics and commentators. Beleaguered high school students have been coerced into composing essays about the tale. Unsurprisingly, the story has been transformed into a cornucopia for symbol generation. Yet, Hemingway himself …

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Quote Origin: People Will Not Say Anymore That the Greeks Fight Like Heroes But Heroes Fight Like Greeks

Winston Churchill? Demetrius Caclamanos? John Rupert Colville? Queen Frederika of Greece? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A family of statements highlights the valor of military forces. Here are two examples: Henceforth we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks Finns don’t fight like heroes; heroes fight like Finns …

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Quote Origin: Damn Everything But the Circus! Damn Everything That Is Grim, Dull, Motionless, Unrisking, Inward Turning

E. E. Cummings? Corita Kent? Helen Kelley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: To enjoy a full life one must be willing to embrace excitement, change, beauty, and risk. Metaphorically, one must enter the center ring of life’s circus and perform. The prominent U.S. poet E. E. Cummings (often styled e e cummings) has been credited …

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Quote Origin: Always Do Sober What You Said You’d Do Drunk. That Will Teach You To Keep Your Mouth Shut

Ernest Hemingway? Charles Scribner IV? Malcolm Forbes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway once described a strategy to reduce drunken boasting. The inebriated person should wait until soberness returns and then perform the foolish boastful actions. Thus, one will quickly learn to keep one’s mouth shut. Is this genuine advice …

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Quote Origin: There Isn’t Anyone You Couldn’t Love Once You’ve Heard Their Story

Fred Rogers? Mister Rogers? Joanne Rogers? Mary Lou Kownacki? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One empathetic thinker suggested that it was possible to love almost anyone once one heard their full story. This notion has been attributed to U.S. television host Fred Rogers who was best known by the appellation “Mister Rogers”, but I have …

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Quote Origin: There Are Old Traders and Bold Traders, But There Are No Old, Bold Traders

Bob Dinda? Tom Clapp? Jerry Heaster? W. Thomas Matthews? Ed Seykota? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Engaging in risky trades of financial instruments endangers one’s financial health. A Wall Street adage states: There are old traders and bold traders, but there are no old, bold traders. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying? …

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Quote Origin: There Are Old Pilots, and There Are Bold Pilots, But There Are No Old, Bold Pilots

Dorothy Verrill? Charles L. Wright? Harry D. Copland? Harry Copewell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The adjective “bold” has positive connotations. Yet, some difficult and dangerous professions do not countenance the inherent riskiness of bold actions. Here is the template of a pertinent adage: There are old X, and there are bold X, but there …

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Quote Origin: The World Is in Greater Peril from Those Who Tolerate or Encourage Evil Than from Those Who Actually Commit It

Albert Einstein? Pablo Casals? Josep Maria Corredor? Paul S. Reichler? Robert I. Fitzhenry? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A family of sayings about the unwise toleration of evil has been attributed to the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Here are five examples: (1) The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil …

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