Tracing Quotations
H. L. Mencken? Arthur Stanwood Pier? L. Curry Morton? Life Magazine? Sylvester K. Stevens? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A startling and funny depiction of a politician has been constructed by mixing two vivid metaphors: A politician is an animal who can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground. This remark …
Continue reading “Politician: Straddling the Fence With Both Ears To the Ground”
Groucho Marx? Lord Palmerston? Old Bishop? John Cordy Jeaffreson? Söndags-Nisse? Robert Lee Bullard? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A famous person lying on their deathbed overheard distraught visitors discussing mortality. The stricken but still lively individual sat bolt upright and declared: Die? That’s the last thing I’ll do. This humorously redundant statement has been attributed to …
Continue reading “Die, My Dear Doctor! That’s the Last Thing I Shall Do”
Henry David Thoreau? Robert Chambers? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A centimillionaire who is fixated on the wealth and extravagances of a billionaire may feel comparatively poor. Yet, a different mindset would allow almost anyone to feel wealthy. The transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau suggested that one could feel rich if one’s pleasures were inexpensive. Would …
Continue reading “That Person Is the Richest Whose Pleasures Are the Cheapest”
Sue Grafton? Kinsey Millhone? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A handbag with the logo of a top fashion company is quite expensive. The high cost functions as a marker of desirability. Here is a germane adage: Pay enough for anything and it passes for taste. This statement has been attributed to popular detective novelist Sue Grafton. …
Continue reading “Pay Enough for Anything and It Passes for Taste”
Mark Twain? Walter Powell? Collis Huntington? Mark Hopkins? Jim Winder? Gavin Dobson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: During the 1800s the discovery of gold in a locale triggered a frenetic scramble of miners who dreamed of great fortunes. Unfortunately, mining led to disappointment for most miners. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage: Don’t dig …
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Apocryphal? Dear Quote investigator: A prominent professional basketball player once shared a bracing insight. Only a relatively tiny number of people are able to advance to the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA). Hoping to become an NBA player is rarely a practical goal. Hence, one should place an emphasis on education and spend …
Boyle Roche? Joe Miller? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A comically incoherent or absurd statement is sometimes called a bull or an Irish bull. Here is an example: I am writing this letter with a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. If the writer is not a three-handed alien then this statement …
Continue reading “Whilst I Write This Letter, I Hold a Sword In One Hand, and a Pistol In the Other”
Gerald Stanley Lee? F. W. Macdonald? Thomas Vezey Strong? Heywood Broun? Eugene O’Neill? Vincent Starrett? Florentine doorkeeper? Parisian Curator? Dear Quote Investigator: Critics and tastemakers have proclaimed that some paintings, books, and plays are masterpieces. Yet, the general populace is not always able to perceive the quality of these works. An anecdote set in a …
Continue reading “These Pictures Are Not On Trial. It Is the Visitors Who Are On Trial”
Peter Drucker? Elsie Robinson? Warren Bennis? Stephen R. Covey? Glenn J. Shanahan? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In the domain of business and entrepreneurship two contrasting statements yield a crucial insight: Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things. The most successful organizations require both efficiency and effectiveness. Another version highlights the following …
Babe Paley? Wallis Simpson? Suzy Knickerbocker? Mrs. J. Gordon Douglas Sr.? Gregg Moran? Truman Capote? Dorothy Parker? Joan Rivers? Zenith Carburetor? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Achieving wealth and a svelte body have become idealized goals in some cultural milieus. Here are three versions of a pertinent maxim: You can never be too rich or too …