Lewis Carroll? Charles L. Dodgson? Ellen Terry? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Altruists believe that the following is a deep insight about life: What is truly worth doing is what we do for others. Lewis Carroll, the famous creator of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” apparently said something like this. Would you please help me to …
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Proverb Origin: There May Be Snow On the Roof, But There’s Fire In the Furnace
Groucho Marx? Caroline Newnes? Louise Manning Hodgkins? Bert Lahr? Ted Ray? John Diefenbaker? Milton Berle? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The emergence of grey hair is inevitable as a person ages. Yet, most senior citizens are able to maintain their energy and vitality. A family of sayings uses figurative language to reflect this viewpoint. Here …
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Quote Origin: Those Who Most Dislike Puns Are Least Able To Utter Them
Edgar Allan Poe? Jonathan Swift? Mary Livingstone? Oscar Levant? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Creating humorous puns is difficult which may help to explain why detractors are so harsh. A wit once said: Those who most dislike puns are least able to utter them The master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe …
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Quote Origin: Punning Is a Talent Which No Man Affects To Despise, But He That Is Without It
Jonathan Swift? Edgar Allan Poe? Mary Livingstone? Oscar Levant? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The dislike of puns is rooted in jealousy. A wit once said something like the following: Punning is a talent which no one despises except those without it. This notion has been attributed to Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, U.S. horror writer …
Quote Origin: “The Pun Is the Lowest Form of Wit” “Yes, That Means It Is the Foundation of All Wit”
Henry Erskine? John Dryden? Tom Sheridan? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An irritated critic stated that puns were the lowest form of wit. A wordsmith responded to this attack with the following clever conclusion which twisted the remark using word play. Since puns occupy the lowest position they must be the foundation of all humor. …
Quote Origin: A Psychologist Tells You What You Already Know in a Language That You Cannot Understand
Henry Walker Hepner? Dorothy Dey? Ellen Seiter? Paddy Whannel? E. H. Jenkins? William James? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Members of a profession often develop a specialized vocabulary or jargon to communicate effectively with one another. Yet, these words and phrases are unintelligible to others. Here is a pertinent quip about psychology: A psychologist is …
Quote Origin: Democracy Is the Worst Form of Government Except For All Others Which Have Been Tried
Winston Churchill? Guy Henson? Plato? Israel Zangwill? William Ralph Inge? Robert Briffault? Herbert Hoover? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The flaws in the democratic form of government are numerous, yet the alternatives such as oligarchy and autocracy inevitably become oppressive and tyrannical. A famous saying states that democracy is the worst form of government except …
Quote Origin: I Expect To Pass Through This World But Once. If There Be Any Kindness I Can Show, Let Me Do It Now
Stephen Grellet? Eva Rose York? A. B. Hegeman? William Penn? John Wesley? John Townsend? Eliza M. Hickok? Henry Drummond? Quakers’ Motto? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Our time on Earth is remarkably brief. We should not hesitate to express compassion and empathy toward others. This notion has been expressed as follows: I expect to pass …
Quote Origin: If I Knew What the Meanings of My Books Were, I Wouldn’t Have Bothered To Write Them
Margaret Drabble? George Plimpton? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When novelists are asked to explain the meanings of the stories they create some are happy to comply. However, many are reticent to present a single definitive interpretation to a complex multilayered narrative. The English novelist Margaret Drabble provided a humorously caustic reply. Would you please …
Quote Origin: I Write Because I Want More Than One Life
Anne Tyler? Lee Smith? C. S. Lewis? George R. R. Martin? Louis L’Amour? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent author disclosed a fascinating insight into her prime motivation for writing novels. She desired to live more than one life. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation? Reply from …
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