Tracing Quotations
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: …
Continue reading “Joke Origin: “Who Would Want To Be 90?” “Anyone Who Is 89””
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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Freedom of Speech Does Not Mean Freedom from Consequences”
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Edward Hulse? Leewin B. Williams? Viola Brothers Shore? Arthur Godfrey? Walter Winchell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The feeling of humility is paradoxical. The instant you become self-aware and proud of your humility, it disappears. This thought has been stated as follows: Humility is a strange thing. The moment you think you’ve got it, you’ve …
Walter Kerr? Jean Kerr? Caroline A. Lejeune? Dorothy Parker? Walter Winchell? Goodman Ace? Clare Boothe Luce? Alexander Woollcott? Kenneth Tynan? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous one-line theater review employed a horrible pun. Many people have been credited with this pun, but I have never seen any solid evidence. The target of the review was …
Continue reading “Review Origin: “I Am a Camera” “No Leica””
Glenn Curtiss? Angelo Donghia? Stephen Robbins? Eugene Lewis Fordsworthe? Caroline Leaf Carol? Bill Gatter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Relying on false assumptions leads to serious blunders. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage: (1) Assumption is the mother of all mistakes.(2) Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. This saying has been attributed …
Continue reading “Adage Origin: Assumption Is the Mother of All Foul-Ups”