Tracing Quotations
Harry Truman? David Boyd Chase? Ben Turner? Charles E. Wilson? Charles Frederick Carter? Edwin C. Johnson? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Economists, lawyers, scientists, and other experts often provide tentative and inconclusive advice to clients. These wily advisers avoid definitive statements and employ locutions such as: on the one hand, but on the other hand. …
Continue reading “Can’t Somebody Bring Me a One-Handed Economist?”
Winston Churchill? Harry Truman? Chinese Adage? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Anyone who was sitting atop a tiger would have a difficult time dismounting safely. Apparently, this scenario has been employed metaphorically by the political leaders Winston Churchill and Harry Truman. Would you please explore this topic? Quote Investigator: In 1937 Winston Churchill delivered an address …
Continue reading “Dictators Ride To and Fro Upon Tigers from Which They Dare Not Dismount”
Harry Truman? A. B. Warfield? Spencer Z. Hilliard? Clifford M. Alexander? Lester C. Hunt? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The phrase “pass the buck” refers to shifting responsibility from one person to another. U.S. President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk in the White House that famously stated: The Buck Stops Here Thus, …
Harry Truman? A. C. Wilson? Adolf Hitler? Richard H. Leask? Anonymous? Dear Quote investigator: The following maxim is attributed to President Harry Truman: If you can’t convince them, confuse them Did Truman really say this? It seems inconsistent with his personality because he was often lauded for being plain spoken and not dissimulating. Quote Investigator: …
Benjamin Jowett? Father Strickland? William T. Arnold? Harry Truman? Ronald Reagan? Charles Edward Montague? Edward Everett Hale? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a quotation I love that presents an insightful guideline for the most effective way to achieve a goal by accenting humility: The way to get things done is not to mind who gets …
Continue reading “A Man May Do an Immense Deal of Good, If He Does Not Care Who Gets the Credit”
Harry Truman? Samuel Gallu? Gordon Gekko? Dear Quote Investigator: I love dogs and live near Washington D.C. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to former President Harry Truman who experienced some bruising political battles and said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” Could you please investigate this quote? Quote Investigator: …