George Bernard Shaw? G. K. Chesterton? Alfred Hitchcock? Lord Northcliffe? Alfred Harmsworth? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A slim person and a portly person engaged in the following sharp exchange: “You look as if there were famine in the land.”“You look as if you were the cause of it.” The participants in this anecdote and …
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Proverb Origin: Inside Every Old Person There Is a Young Person Wondering What Happened
Terry Pratchett? Ashleigh Brilliant? Cora Harvey Armstrong? Dan Sullivan? Hal Roach? Barbara Johnson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An individual who feels young at heart sometimes looks in the mirror and is surprised to find an old person staring back. The years pass surprisingly rapidly. Here is a germane saying: Inside every older person there’s …
Proverb Origin: You Cannot Awaken Someone Who Is Pretending To Sleep
Mohandas Gandhi? Jonathan Safran Foer? B. N. Misra? T. S. A. Chettiar? Hakim Sanai? Yoruba Proverb? Navajo Proverb? Oromo Proverb? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Some people deliberately refuse to acknowledge unwelcome facts or events. They may pretend to misunderstand information, or they may simply ignore it. Here is a pertinent figurative expression: You can’t …
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Joke Origin: “Who Would Want To Be 90?” “Anyone Who Is 89”
Phyllis Diller? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Physical and mental challenges accumulate as one grows older. Yet, opportunities for growth and achievement are undiminished. A comedian delivered the following pertinent joke: Question: “Who would want to be 90?”Answer: “Anyone who is 89.” Would you please find out who created this joke? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
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Quote Origin: Freedom of Speech Does Not Mean Freedom from Consequences
Harvey O’Higgins? Brice Durbin? Richard L. Evans? Pat Benton? Samuel Johnson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The “freedom of speech” doctrine has always been controversial. People who voice unpopular or offensive opinions sometimes face dire repercussions such as severed friendships, lost jobs, public shaming, imprisonment, and even execution. The following statement presents an implicit rationale …
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Quip Origin: Everybody Should Believe in Something; I Believe I’ll Have Another Drink
W. C. Fields? Peter De Vries? Joe Sandwich? Morley Callaghan? Mary Steele? Ed McMahon? Chris Browne? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a statement is unexpected. This surprising element requires a comical reframing. For example, the following remark initially seems to be about …
Quote Origin: Libraries Store the Energy That Fuels the Imagination. They Open Up Windows To the World
Sidney Sheldon? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A top-selling author once powerfully praised libraries with the following words: Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better. Apparently, …
Quote Origin: We Die Twice: First, When We Cease To Be; Second, When We Are Forgotten
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Ernest Hemingway? Banksy? Laurie Anderson? Amelia B. Edwards? James Grant? Sylvester Stallone? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A family of expressions describes two stages of mortality. One stage corresponds to traditional biological death. The other stage corresponds to cultural disappearance which occurs when a figure is forgotten …
Quote Origin: One Dies Twice. To Cease To Love Is an Unbearable Death. To Cease To Live Is Nothing
Voltaire? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The philosopher and historian Voltaire (penname of François-Marie Arouet) wrote about metaphorically dying twice. One dies when one can no longer form a bond of love. One dies again when the physical body expires. I do not know the precise phrases Voltaire used to express this …
Quote Origin: It Is Unbelievable How Much You Don’t Know About the Game You’ve Been Playing All Your Life
Mickey Mantle? Anthony J. Connor? David Plaut? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent athlete believed that even top professionals should practice and continue to improve their capabilities. This attitude was expressed as follows: It is unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life. U.S. Major League Baseball …