Tracing Quotations
Hesketh Pearson? Stephen Gwynn? Lord Byron? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The human brain is not designed to precisely remember quotations. Unintentionally paraphrasing or altering quotations is common. A popular writer once suggested that misquotations were the pride and privilege of the learned. Unsurprisingly, I do not remember the precise phrasing of this remark. Would …
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George Orwell? Cyril Connolly? Margaret Marshall? Kingsley Amis? Kit Reed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Societal attitudes toward body weight and body image have changed, and this topic can be controversial. I recall the following adage from decades in the past: Inside every fat person is a slim one who wants to get out. I …
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Baron Rothschild? Anselm Rothschild? Nathan Mayer Rothschild? Lionel de Rothschild? Bernard Baruch? John D. Rockefeller? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Societal chaos and violence is frightening to investors. Uncertainty depresses the prices of securities. Yet, a popular adage highlights the presence of opportunity: Buy when blood is running in the streets. This guideline makes sense …
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Thomas Otway? Thomas Brand? George Colman? Theodore Hook? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When the answer to a question is obviously affirmative the respondent can employ a rhetorical phrase from a family that includes these three examples: Is water wet?Is the Pope a Catholic?Can a duck swim? Apparently, these types of catchphrases have been circulating …
Wesly Brogdon? Dea Reed? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Bobby Foster? Dean Martin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When the answer to a question is obviously affirmative the respondent can employ a rhetorical phrase from a family that includes these three examples: Is water wet?Can birds fly?Is the Pope a Catholic? When the answer is obviously negative the …
Continue reading “Catchphrase Origin: Does a Chicken Have Lips?”
John Maclean? James Hudson? James Riley? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Warring countries enlist workers to fight battles. Pacifists have adopted the following slogan. Here are three versions: (1) A bayonet is a weapon with a working man at either end.(2) A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end.(3) …
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Carol Burnett? Charles Constantine Pise? Jim Furlong? Jim Obert? Art Lewis? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When the answer to a question is obviously affirmative the respondent can employ the following rhetorical phrase: Is the Pope Catholic?Is the Pope a Catholic? This reply suggests that the original question was ridiculous, but the insult is leavened …
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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 …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading “Proverb Origin: You Cannot Awaken Someone Who Is Pretending To Sleep”