Quote Origin: Trust Everybody, But Cut the Cards

Finley Peter Dunne? Martin Dooley? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One should be generous when conveying trust, but one should not be gullible or naïve. One must take precautions and defend oneself. An adage from the domain of card games presents this viewpoint: Trust everybody, but cut the cards. This notion has been attributed to …

Quote Origin: What I Learned, I No Longer Know. What Little I Still Know, I Have Guessed

Nicolas Chamfort? Charles de Talleyrand? Catherine Gore? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A student is taught numerous topics during a formal education, yet most details are swiftly forgotten once schooling is completed. A wit composed the following candid remark: All that I’ve learned, I’ve forgotten. The little that I still know, I’ve guessed. This saying …

Quote Origin: Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

Mark Twain? Frank Marshall White? Albert Bigelow Paine? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous anecdote about the humorist Mark Twain occurred when he was an elderly gentleman. A prominent newspaper reported that Twain was either gravely ill or dead. Journalists rushed to learn more about the story, and they found that Twain was still …

Joke Origin: “Give Me a Cup of Coffee Without Cream” “You’ll Have To Take It Without Milk. We Haven’t Any Cream”

Jean-Paul Sartre? George Carlin? Slavoj Žižek? O. O. McIntyre? Sewell Ford? Billy Wilder? Leo Rosten? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Philosophers, linguists, and humorists enjoy the following joke about tacit knowledge: A person enters a café and requests coffee without cream. After a delay the waiter returns and says “I’m sorry. We’re out of cream. …

Quote Origin: The Soul Is Healed By Being With Children

Fyodor Dostoevsky? Prince Myshkin? Constance Garnett? Henry Carlisle? Olga Carlisle? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A major literary figure once wrote about the connection between children and spiritual health. Here are two versions: (1) The soul is healed by being with children.(2) Through children the soul is healed. This remark has been attributed to the …

Quote Origin: The Only Traditions of the Royal Navy Are Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash

Winston Churchill? Harold Nicolson? Paddy Leigh Fermor? Anthony Montague Browne? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to legend a British statesman was once criticized for disregarding naval tradition. The statesman responded with the following zinger:  The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy, and the lash. This line has been attributed to Winston …

Quip Origin: If God Had Intended That People Should Go Naked, We Would Have Been Born That Way

Walt Willis? Zorima? Raymond Duncan’s Wife? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The “appeal to nature” argument asserts that something which is natural is good, and something which is unnatural is bad. This style of reasoning has produced the following entertaining statements: (1) If God wanted us to wear clothes, we would have been born that …

Quote Origin: The Way That Person Believes In Themselves Is Quite Refreshing In These Atheistic Times When Many Believe In No God At All

Israel Zangwill? G. K. Chesterton? George Bernard Shaw? William Thomas Stead? H. G. Wells? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Intellectuals often think very highly of themselves. One wit satirized this self-absorption with the following quip: The way he believes in himself is very refreshing in these atheistic days when so many believe in no God …

Anecdote Origin: In the Wild Hill Countries from Whence My Client Comes They Talk of Little Else

Alexander Martin Sullivan? Marshall Hall? Henry Harte Barry? John Chute Neligan? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular anecdote in legal circles concerns a lawyer who was representing a client from a rural area. The judge condescendingly asked the lawyer whether the client was familiar with a legal doctrine which was identified via a pompous Latin …

Quote Origin: The Literary World Is Made Up of Second-Rate Writers Who Write About Other Second-Rate Writers

Mickey Spillane? Terry Southern? David Halberstam? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The best-selling author of pulp thrillers was excoriated by literary critics. His reported response was harsh: The literary world is made of second-rate writers writing about other second-rate writers. This statement has been credited to Mickey Spillane, but I am skeptical because I have …

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