George Bernard Shaw? Ogden Nash? Viva Begbie? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: I once heard the following humorous definition:
Marriage — An alliance between two people: One can’t sleep with the window shut; the other can’t sleep with the window open.
This definition has been attributed to the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw and the U.S. poet Ogden Nash. Would you please explore this topic?
Quote Investigator: In May 1948 “The Saturday Evening Post” published the poem “I Do, I Will, I Have” by Ogden Nash which considered compatibility between marriage partners. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] 1948 May 8, The Saturday Evening Post, “I Do, I Will, I Have” by Ogden Nash, Start Page 82, Quote Page 82, Saturday Evening Post Society, Inc., Indianapolis Indiana. (EBSCO MasterFILE Premier)
I know that marriage is a legal and religious alliance entered into by
a man who can’t sleep with the window shut and
a woman who can’t sleep with the window open.
The poem also contained the following lines:
Moreover, just as I am unsure of the difference between flora and fauna, and flotsam and jetsam,
I am quite sure that marriage is the alliance of two people, one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other never forgetsam
QI has found no substantive evidence that George Bernard Shaw employed the quip under examination. He died in 1950, and the joke was attributed to him by 1989.
Below are selected citations in chronological order.
References
↑1 | 1948 May 8, The Saturday Evening Post, “I Do, I Will, I Have” by Ogden Nash, Start Page 82, Quote Page 82, Saturday Evening Post Society, Inc., Indianapolis Indiana. (EBSCO MasterFILE Premier) |
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