Emily Dickinson? Mabel Loomis Todd? Rumer Godden? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Life can be overwhelming. The flow of experience induces intense sensations and emotions. Changes in the world and in each individual are continuous and unavoidable. Here are two versions of a pertinent observation: (1) To live is so startling it leaves little time …
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Quote Origin: Be Sincere; Be Brief; Be Seated
Franklin D. Roosevelt? James Roosevelt? Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher? William ‘Buster’ Collier Jr.? C. Z. Weiser? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Successful public speaking is both difficult and stressful, but it can be highly rewarding. The following tripartite guidance is both cogent and humorous. Here are two versions: Be brief, be sincere. and be seated.Be sincere, …
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Quote Origin: We Have Not Got Any Money, So We Have Got To Think
Winston Churchill? Ernest Rutherford? Henry Tizard? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When access to money is restricted it becomes more difficult to accomplish tasks. Deeper and more creative thought is required to make progress. Here are four versions of a pertinent expression: (1) We have not got any money, so we have got to think.(2) …
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Quote Origin: The Struggle Between the Admitted Desire To Dress and the Unadmitted Desire To Undress
Lin Yutang? Sydney J. Harris? Carl Bakal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The kaleidoscopic world of fashion contains fluctuating hemlines, shifting necklines, transparent fabrics, and revealing slits. A pundit once stated that fashion embodies the struggle between the admitted desire to dress and the unadmitted desire to undress. Would you please explore the provenance of …
Quote Origin: One Day in Retrospect the Years of Struggle Will Strike You As the Most Beautiful
Sigmund Freud? C. G. Jung? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Apparently, a famous psychoanalyst once said that when one looks back at one’s life the periods of struggle will be considered the most beautiful. Do you know whether something like this was said by Sigmund Freud or C. G. Jung? Reply from Quote Investigator: In …
Quote Origin: A Camel Is a Horse That Was Designed by a Committee
Charles F. Kettering? Alec Issigonis? T. R. Quaife? Norris Cotton? Paul H. Gilbert? Jimmy Durante? Ed Byron? Georg Christoph Lichtenberg? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When the opinions of committee members diverge significantly it becomes difficult to formulate a coherent consensus. This notion has been humorously expressed with a clever adage: A camel is a …
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Quote Origin: A Donkey Is a Horse Translated Into Dutch
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg? Stendhal? Marie-Henri Beyle? W. H. Auden? Bayard Taylor? Question for Quote Investigator: A German humorist who lived in the 18th century thought the Dutch language sounded ridiculous as indicated by the following quip: A donkey appears to me like a horse translated into Dutch. Would you please help me to find the …
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Quote Origin: The Kiss is a Wordless Articulation of Desires Whose Object Lies in the Future, and Somewhat To the South
Lance Morrow? Tomima Edmark? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A kiss has been described as a “wordless articulation of desires whose object lies in the future.” Would you please help me to determine who made this statement? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1986 U.S. essayist and “Time” magazine journalist Lance Morrow published a piece about …
Quote Origin: You Don’t Have To Be Crazy To Work Here, But It Helps
Walt Disney? Carolyn Kay Shafer? Douglas Adams? John Lloyd? Adam Breede? Ralph Spence? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I first encountered the following quip many years ago. Here are two versions: (1) You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps.(2) You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it …
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Quote Origin: When People Cease To Believe in God, They Do Not Then Believe in Nothing, But in Anything
G. K. Chesterton? Malcolm Muggeridge? Émile Cammaerts? Umberto Eco? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An individual who becomes skeptical about traditional belief systems does not automatically embrace careful thought and rationality. Instead, the individual may embrace more eccentric belief systems and superstitions. Consider the following related remark: When people cease to believe in God, they …