Robert Zuppke? Red Grange? Harry Gaspar? Robert Haven Schauffler? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Traditionally, displaying good sportsmanship and being a gracious loser has been extolled. Yet, a harsher and more controversial perspective has inspired an acerbic family of mottoes. Here are three examples: Would you please explore the history of the first saying? Reply …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: When You Want To Fool the World, Tell the Truth
Otto von Bismarck? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? George Bernard Shaw? Gaston Means? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An individual who is distrusted can tell the absolute truth and experience solid skepticism. This is particularly accurate when the truth is difficult to believe or comprehend. This observation is reflected in the following adage. Here are four versions: …
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Quote Origin: He Who Is Not Courageous Enough To Take Risks Will Accomplish Nothing in Life
Muhammad Ali? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The world heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali was acclaimed for his physical and verbal dexterity. One of his mottoes stated that courage was needed to take bold risks, and significant accomplishments required these daring risks. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Quote Origin: The Very Existence of Libraries Affords the Best Evidence That We May Yet Have Hope for the Future of Man
T. S. Eliot? Jayne Ann Krentz? Alan Bennett? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The Nobel laureate T. S. Eliot apparently stated that the establishment of libraries provided compelling evidence that humanity had a future. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: The renowned poet T. S. Eliot died …
Quote Origin: You Are Not a Human Being Having a Spiritual Experience. You Are a Spiritual Being Having a Human Experience
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin? Wayne W. Dyer? Stephen R. Covey? Georges Gurdjieff? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Antimetabole is a powerful rhetorical technique in which a phrase is repeated, but key elements are reordered. A popular statement about spirituality uses this strategy: We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings …
Quote Origin: I Know Artists Whose Medium Is Life Itself, and Who Express the Inexpressible Without Brush, Pencil, Chisel, or Guitar
Frederick Franck? Oscar Wilde? Donna J. Stone? J. Stone? Timothy Morrissey? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Artists do not always require implements such as brushes, clay, chisels, hammers, or guitars to create works. Some artists use life itself as a medium. This fascinating notion has been expressed in a family of quotations that I have …
Quote Origin: All the Good Music’s Already Been Written By People With Wigs and Stuff On
Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Iconoclastic musician and composer Frank Zappa was known for his trenchant cultural commentary. Apparently, he once stated that all the good music had already been created by the composers of an earlier era who stereotypically wore wigs. Would you please help me to find a citation Reply from …
Quote Origin: You Cannot Control the Length of Your Life, But You Can Control Its Width and Depth
Evan Esar? H. L. Mencken? Exchange? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The key to achieving equanimity and contentment in life is accurately assessing what is within your control and what is beyond your control. The following figurative adage is instructive: You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something …
Quote Origin: Education ‘To Earn a Living’ Will Become an Anachronism
Buckminster Fuller? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: In recent years the discussion of artificial intelligence and robotics replacing human workers has resurfaced. In addition, economic ideas such as universal basic income have been proposed to ameliorate societal dislocations. I am reminded of discourses from the 1960s. The controversial pathbreaking inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller …
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Quote Origin: I Say Hardly Any of Those Clever Things That Are Attributed To Me
Dorothy Parker? Yogi Berra? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Numerous sharp remarks have been credited incorrectly to the well-known wit Dorothy Parker. She was well aware of these misattributions, and she once commented that many of those clever remarks were not hers. Would you please help me to find a citation for her general disclaimer? …
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