Tracing Quotations
Elizabeth Warren? Ann Richards? Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Cecile Richards? Pat Rusk? David Horowitz? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If one wishes to influence a decision then one must be present at the negotiation table. If one is absent then an unfavorable decision is likely. Metaphorically, one’s rights and interests will be consumed by the other participants …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If You Are Not at the Table Then You’re Probably on the Menu”
Speaker: George Dixon? Ann Richards? Vito Marcantonio? Oliver Herford? Target: Harold Ickes? George H. W. Bush? Newbold Morris? Jones? Question for Quote Investigator: A person who is born into a wealthy and successful family is “born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth” according to a longstanding idiom. There is a funny variant …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Born with a Silver Foot in His or Her Mouth”
Ann Richards? John F. Kennedy? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a new one-woman play titled “ANN” about Ann Richards who was the Governor of Texas in the 1990s. The theatrical presentation contains a memorable line about her philosophy of government. I am not sure if I remember it exactly, but the statement is …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Life Isn’t Fair, But Government Must Be”
Margaret Thatcher? Ann Richards? Joel Chandler Harris? Uncle Remus? African-American folklore? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, passed away recently, and I was reminded of a pointed saying that is credited to her. Here are three versions: Did she use this expression, and did she coin …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Rooster May Crow, But It’s the Hen Who Lays the Egg”