Tracing Quotations
Dorothy Parker? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker was well known for her sometimes controversial witticisms. Apparently, one of her remarks was based on clichés about the vanity, mannerisms, and/or sexuality of actors. Would you please examine this topic? Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the widely-syndicated column of …
Continue reading “Scratch an Actor and You’ll Find an Actress”
Dorothy Parker? Margaret Irwin? Kingsley Martin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The writers, artists, and intellectuals of the Bloomsbury Group formed complex and shifting intimate relationships. A wit once said: They lived in squares and loved in triangles. The geometric wordplay referred to the residences of the group. For example, Leonard and Virginia Woolf lived in …
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Dorothy Parker? Pauline Kael? Dear Quote Investigator: The decision to greenlight a movie in Hollywood is complicated and protracted. Those eager to make films experience a mixture of encouragement, uncertainty, delays, and heartbreak. Here are two versions of a germane witticism: Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement. Hollywood …
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Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The well-known wit Dorothy Parker brought forth laughter from others, but personally she experienced episodes of depression. Apparently, when her doorbell rang she would sometimes proclaim: What fresh hell is this? Is this an accurate claim? Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker died in 1967, and her earliest known linkage to …
Dorothy Parker? Corey Ford? John Keats? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Apparently, the famous wit Dorothy Parker was once asked why she had selected the curious name Onan for her pet canary. She replied: Because he spills his seed on the ground. What is the veracity of this tale? Quote Investigator: The biblical figure Onan appeared …
Tallulah Bankhead? Dorothy Parker? Robert Benchley? James Boswell? Richard Burke? William Hazlitt? Dear Quote investigator: The actress Tallulah Bankhead was watching an ostentatious play, and she whispered to her companion a hilarious line based on an inverted cliché: There is less in this than meets the eye. This quip has also been attributed to two …
Dorothy Parker? Ben Hecht? Corey Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker apparently constructed a risqué quip when she observed people ducking for apples at a party. Would you please explore this topic? Dear Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of Parker’s jest located by QI appeared in the 1957 book “Charlie: The …
Continue reading “Change One Letter in That Phrase and You Have My Life Story”
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: William Shakespeare memorably wrote that: Brevity is the soul of wit. The wordsmith Dorothy Parker famously transformed the Bard’s phrase into a humorous and erotic remark: Brevity is the soul of lingerie. Several quotation references list Parker’s statement, but the earliest citation I’ve seen is indirect; a friend named …
Dorothy Parker? The Virginia Spectator? The Daily Standard of Sikeston, Missouri? Alexander Woollcott? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker was famous for her coruscating wit, and she once employed a notoriously bawdy pun based on the word horticulture. Was she responsible for originating this pun? Quote Investigator: There is substantive evidence that Dorothy Parker created …
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Dorothy Parker? Ellen Parr? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement about curiosity has been attributed to the well-known wit Dorothy Parker and someone named Ellen Parr: The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. Would you please examine the provenance of this saying? Quote Investigator: The earliest instance of this …
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