George Bernard Shaw? Farmer Brown? Isaac Marcosson? Stephen Leacock? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The advice offered by economists is often equivocal and hedged. The famous playwright and witty social critic George Bernard Shaw reportedly crafted the following lament: If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion. I …
Category Archives: Stephen Leacock
Quote Origin: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again. Then Quit. There’s No Use Being a Damn Fool About It
W. C. Fields? Stephen Leacock? Justin J. Burns? Henry Morgan? George Burns? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A well-known saying about persistence has become an energyless cliché: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The following parody version is usually attributed to the famous comedian W. C. Fields: If at first you don’t …
Quote Origin: I’m a Great Believer in Luck. The Harder I Work, the More Luck I Have
Thomas Jefferson? Coleman Cox? Stephen Leacock? Samuel Goldwyn? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a humorously insightful quotation about luck that is often credited to the American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson: I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. The class notes of a …