Nigel Rees? Stephen Fry? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: This website contains numerous examples of quotations that have been reassigned from anonymous or forgotten individuals to famous figures. The general phenomenon has been designated “Churchillian Drift” because of the large number of sayings that have been incorrectly attributed to Winston Churchill. Would you please explore …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: You Killed My Brother. We Must Have a Duel
Donald M. Richardson? Olwyn Orde Browne? T. K. Steele? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When I was a child I heard a circular story, i.e., a story that was designed to be repeated. The details are hazy, but I know there was a duel and a character named Zanzibar. Would you please help me to …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Killed My Brother. We Must Have a Duel”
Anecdote Origin: “Tell Us One of Your Famous Stories” “‘Twas a Dark and Fearsome Night”
Antonio? Canfield and Carlton? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Experimental fiction and metafiction became influential in literary circles during the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, I recall a playful story from the beginning of the twentieth century that used recursion. A character named Antonio presented a comically nested tale to a group of brigands. Would you …
Quote Origin: The Purpose of the Writer Is To Keep Civilization from Destroying Itself
Bernard Malamud? Albert Camus? Harris Wofford? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Having a grand mission to achieve with your life helps to generate a powerful motivational force. Apparently, one scribe asserted that: The purpose of the writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself. This remark has been credited to the famous existential philosopher Albert …
Quote Origin: The Task of My Generation Consists in Preventing the World from Destroying Itself
Albert Camus? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Nuclear and biological warfare present ongoing existential risks for mankind. Environmental degradation presents another set of risks. The crucial task for this generation is to prevent the world from destroying itself. Apparently, the French existentialist philosopher Albert Camus highlighted this task of self-preservation back in the 1950s. Would …
Quote Origin: The Best Way To Lift One’s Self Up Is To Help Some One Else
Booker T. Washington? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: If you desire to improve your condition in life or lift yourself up then you should help someone else to achieve a better life. The famous educator and orator Booker T. Washington made this point eloquently. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Best Way To Lift One’s Self Up Is To Help Some One Else”
Quote Origin: When I Hear Artists or Authors Making Fun of Business Men I Think of a Regiment in Which the Band Makes Fun of the Cooks
H. L. Mencken? Robert E. Adams? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Acerbic commentator H. L. Mencken has received credit for a figurative remark that mentions military bands and military cooks. Yet, I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please examine this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1942 H. L. …
Quote Origin: We Attend the Openings of Envelopes
Andy Warhol? Sylvia Miles? Wayland Flowers? Jack O’Brian? Rex Reed? Olivia Goldsmith? Ivana Trump? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The opening of an exciting theatrical production or an innovative art museum can be a prestigious event with an impressive guest list. Yet, many openings are weary exercises in public relations with unremarkable attendees. A self-promoter …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: We Attend the Openings of Envelopes”
Quote Origin: I Am a Lie That Always Tells the Truth
Jean Cocteau? Pablo Picasso? Herbert V. Prochnow? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The life mission of an artist is paradoxical. Masterpieces are not subservient to narrow facticity. Representing truths and insights requires the imaginative transformation of raw materials. Here are two versions of an energizing maxim for artists: The saying above has been attributed to …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Am a Lie That Always Tells the Truth”
Quote Origin: A Facility for Quotation Covers the Absence of Original Thought
Dorothy L. Sayers? Lord Peter Wimsey? Harriet Vane? Philip Broadley? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I have found the perfect sardonic motto for the QI website: A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought. According to the “Encarta Book of Quotations” these words were spoken by the character Lord Peter Wimsey in the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Facility for Quotation Covers the Absence of Original Thought”