George Bernard Shaw? Winston Churchill? Cedric Hardwicke? Blanche Patch? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to a Hollywood legend, a famous intellectual or statesman once praised a prominent actor with a left-handed compliment. Here are two versions: The famous person was supposedly George Bernard Shaw or Winston Churchill. The actor was the English …
Category Archives: George Bernard Shaw
Quote Origin: Fashions, After All, Are Only Induced Epidemics
George Bernard Shaw? Gloria Steinem? W.H. Auden? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A style, jingle, gif, graffito, saying, or idea that rapidly mutates and propagates through a culture and achieves popularity is called a “meme” nowadays. The coinage of “meme” was based on “gene”, but a different biological metaphor was employed in the …
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Dialogue Origin: “What’s Your Opinion of Civilization?” “It’s a Good Idea. Somebody Ought To Start It”
George Bernard Shaw? Albert Schweitzer? Life Magazine? Mohandas Gandhi? Ferdinand Pecora? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some thinkers believe that humanity has not yet achieved an advanced society worthy of the name “civilization”. This notion has been expressed with the following dialog: “What’s your idea of civilization?” “It’s a good idea. Somebody ought to start …
Dialogue Origin: “Are You Enjoying Yourself?” “Yes, But That’s the Only Thing I Am Enjoying”
Oscar Wilde? George Bernard Shaw? Ambrose Bierce? Charles Frederick Joy? Percival Christopher Wren? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you are attending a soporific party, and the host asks whether you are content you might reply with the following comically self-absorbed zinger attributed to the famous Irish wit Oscar Wilde: “Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. …
Quote Origin: This World Is the Lunatic Asylum of the Universe
Mark Twain? Thomas Jefferson? Voltaire? Edward Young? George Bernard Shaw? Laird MacKenzie? Elsie McCormick? Bertrand Russell? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Several thinkers have offered an anguished explanation for the dangerously disordered state of the world. Here are four versions: This notion has been credited to Mark Twain, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, George …
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Quote Origin: This Earth Is Used By Other Planets as a Lunatic Asylum
George Bernard Shaw? Voltaire? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Influential intellectuals have experienced cosmic despair while observing the behavior of humankind. Here are some statements I have heard attributed to Voltaire, George Bernard Shaw and others: Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: This is a complex topic; hence, QI will split …
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Quote Origin: A Life Spent in Making Mistakes Is Not Only More Honorable But More Useful Than a Life Spent Doing Nothing
Creator: George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic Context: Shaw’s play “The Doctor’s Dilemma” was first staged in London in 1906. In 1911 Shaw published the text of drama together with a lengthy preface which included the following passage. Emphasis added: Attention and activity lead to mistakes as well as to successes; but a life …
Quote Origin: A Drama Critic Leaves No Turn Unstoned
George Bernard Shaw? Catholic Standard and Times? Ethel Watts Mumford? Oliver Herford? Addison Mizner? Arthur Wimperis? Colette d’Arville? Ogden Nash? Diana Rigg? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous playwright George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a clever bit of wordplay concerning the role of a critic. The quip transforms the following venerable idiom describing …
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Quote Origin: Never Wrestle with a Pig. You Both Get Dirty and the Pig Likes It
George Bernard Shaw? Mark Twain? Abraham Lincoln? Cyrus Stuart Ching? J. Frank Condon? Richard P. Calhoon? N. H. Eagle? Cale Yarborough? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular metaphorical adage warns individuals not to engage with disreputable critics. Here are two versions: This saying has been credited to a triumvirate of quotation superstars: Mark Twain, …
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Quote Origin: It Is the Customary Fate of New Truths to Begin as Heresies and to End as Superstitions
Thomas Henry Huxley? George Bernard Shaw? Garrett Hardin? Caryl P. Haskins? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An influential idea passes through three stages: 1) Begins as heresy2) Turns into orthodoxy,3) Ends up as superstition. I cannot remember who said this. Can you help? Reply from Quote Investigator: There are several different quotations that describe the …