Groucho Marx? Marshall Reid? Fanny Brice? Frank Case? Jane Ace? Goodman Ace? Rudy Vallée? Verree Teasdale? Robert Bloch? John Lennon? Ann Landers? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following humorous pun about comeuppance for poor behavior has been attributed to the famous comedian Groucho Marx. The slang term “heel” refers to a contemptible person: Time wounds …
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You Can’t Be a Real Country Unless You Have a Beer and an Airline
Frank Zappa? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Did the Frank Zappa really say that a proper country needs a beer and an airline? Quote Investigator: In 1989 “The Real Frank Zappa Book” was published by the well-known songwriter and musician, and it included an instance of the remark mentioned above. Zappa was not eager to write …
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Know Your Lines and Don’t Bump Into the Furniture
Spencer Tracy? Noel Coward? Alfred Lunt? Lynn Fontanne? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Some actors engage in elaborate rituals when preparing to perform a role. But the funniest advice about acting that I have ever heard avoids all pretensions. Here are three versions: 1) Speak clearly, and don’t bump into the furniture. 2) Learn your lines …
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Do You Want Six or Eight Slices of Pizza?
Yogi Berra? Ken Thompson? Bobby Bragan? Muriel Vernick? Danny Osinski? Andy Wimpfheimer? George Carlin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a comical tale about whether a pizza should be cut into six or eight slices. The punchline is typically attributed to an athlete such as Yogi Berra. Are you familiar with this joke? Would you …
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Art, Like Morality, Consists of Drawing the Line Somewhere
Oscar Wilde? G. K. Chesterton? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I saw the following remark on the webpage of an educator: Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. The phrase was attributed to Oscar Wilde, but I have not been able to find it in his oeuvre. It was listed on websites like Goodreads and …
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Quote Origin: A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth Is Putting On Its Shoes
Mark Twain? Jonathan Swift? Thomas Francklin? Fisher Ames? Thomas Jefferson? John Randolph? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Winston Churchill? Terry Pratchett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An insightful remark about the rapid transmission of lies is often attributed to Mark Twain and Winston Churchill. Here are two versions: (1) A lie travels around the globe while the truth …
Quote Origin: The Secret to Creativity Is Knowing How to Hide Your Sources
Albert Einstein? C. E. M. Joad? Nolan Bushnell? Coco Chanel? Conan O’Brien? Franklin P. Jones? Charles Moore? Bruce Sterling? Joe Sedelmaier? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have a difficult challenge for you. Here are three versions of a popular maxim: 1) The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. 2) Creativity …
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They May Forget What You Said, But They Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel
Frank A. Patterson Jr.? Maya Angelou? Carl W. Buehner? Carl W. Buechner? Carol Buchner? Don Aslett? Jerry Johnston? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The most valuable advice that I have ever heard for speakers and teachers is the following: They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. This …
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Quote Origin: Choose a Lazy Person To Do a Hard Job Because That Person Will Find an Easy Way To Do It
Bill Gates? Frank Gilbreth Sr., Clarence Bleicher? Walter Chrysler? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a quotation offering eccentric advice that is often attributed to the billionaire software magnate Bill Gates: I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult (or hard) job because a lazy person will find an easy …
When I Wrote It, Only God and I Knew the Meaning; Now God Alone Knows
Robert Browning? Johann Paul Friedrich Richter? Jakob Böhme? Johann Gottlieb Fichte? Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel? Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular play “The Barretts of Wimpole Street” dramatized the compelling love story between the poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. The work was first performed in the 1930s and was later made …
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