George Bernard Shaw? Oscar Wilde? Irvin Cobb? Michel de Montaigne? John Brunner? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A very popular acerbic adage combines wisdom and wistfulness together with a modicum of jealousy: Youth is wasted on the young. These words have been attributed to two famous Irish wits: George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Oddly, I …
Category Archives: George Bernard Shaw
Though Music Be a Universal Language, It Is Spoken with All Sorts of Accents
George Bernard Shaw? Alan Lomax? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? Henry David Thoreau? Dear Quote Investigator: I believe that the famous playwright and music critic George Bernard Shaw said something like the following: Music may be a universal language, but it’s spoken with all sorts of peculiar accents. I checked some quotation references and was unable to …
Continue reading “Though Music Be a Universal Language, It Is Spoken with All Sorts of Accents”
People Who Say It Cannot Be Done Should Not Interrupt Those Who Are Doing It
George Bernard Shaw? Puck? Saxby’s Magazine? Elbert Hubbard? Confucius? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage is the perfect antidote to excessive negativity and obstructionism: People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. These words are often attributed to Asian sage Confucius and to the acclaimed playwright George …
Continue reading “People Who Say It Cannot Be Done Should Not Interrupt Those Who Are Doing It”
This Just Shows What God Could Do If He Had Money
Wolcott Gibbs? George Bernard Shaw? Margaret Case Harriman? Alexander Woollcott? Ivor Brown? Frank Case? Peter Fleming? Brooks Atkinson? George S. Kaufman? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A wit once travelled to the opulent country estate of a friend and was shown the surrounding grounds which were well-manicured and extensively landscaped. Several large trees had been transplanted …
Continue reading “This Just Shows What God Could Do If He Had Money”
Animal Rights and Beings from Another Planet
George Bernard Shaw? John Harris? Brigid Brophy? Apocryphal? Dear Quote investigator: George Bernard Shaw was a strong advocate of vegetarianism who was greatly concerned with animal welfare. The following statement attributed to Shaw encouraged the reader to embrace an abstract extraplanetary perspective and asked the reader to condemn the instrumental use of animals for food, …
Continue reading “Animal Rights and Beings from Another Planet”
The Biggest Problem in Communication Is the Illusion That It Has Taken Place
George Bernard Shaw? William H. Whyte? Pierre Martineau? Joseph Coffman? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I am copy editing a book, and the author would like to include an insightful remark about communication. Here are four versions: 1) The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. 2) The greatest problem …
Continue reading “The Biggest Problem in Communication Is the Illusion That It Has Taken Place”
Anecdote Origin: “If I Were Your Wife I’d Put Poison in Your Tea!” “If I Were Your Husband I’d Drink It”
Winston Churchill? Nancy Astor? Marshall Pinckney Wilder? Patrick O’Dowd? David Lloyd George? George Bernard Shaw? Groucho Marx? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a famous anecdote in which an exasperated individual fantasizes aloud about giving poison to another person. The sharp rejoinder is surprising and hilarious. Usually the two named participants are Nancy Astor …
Quote Origin: If You Are Not a Liberal at 25, You Have No Heart. If You Are Not a Conservative at 35 You Have No Brain
Edmund Burke? Anselme Batbie? Victor Hugo? King Oscar II of Sweden? George Bernard Shaw? François Guizot? Jules Claretie? Georges Clemenceau? Benjamin Disraeli? Winston Churchill? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some individuals change their political orientation as they grow older. There is a family of sayings that present a mordant judgment on this ideological evolution. Here …
I Have Made an International Reputation for Myself by Thinking Once or Twice a Week
George Bernard Shaw? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous playwright, critic, and essayist George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a remark about his world-wide fame. He entertainingly stated that his acclaim rested on his ability to engage in thought once or twice a week because others attempted to think only two or three times …
Some People Never Miss an Opportunity to Miss an Opportunity
George Bernard Shaw? Abba Eban? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular phrase used to criticize individuals and groups. Here are three examples: Some politicians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. He never missed an occasion of losing an opportunity. This group loses no chance to miss an opportunity. Can you determine …
Continue reading “Some People Never Miss an Opportunity to Miss an Opportunity”