Tracing Quotations
Dorothy Parker? Franklin Pierce Adams? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker once penned an entertaining poem which rhymed “Romania” and “extemporanea”. Would you please help me to find a citation for this poem? Quote Investigator: In 1926 Dorothy Parker published the poetry collection “Enough Rope”. The rhyme was contained in a four-line …
Continue reading “Love Is a Thing That Can Never Go Wrong; And I Am Marie of Romania”
Dorothy Parker? Mae West? Alexander Woollcott? A. E. Mortimer? Mark Barron? Meyer Levin? Billy Boner? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The U.S. poet and wit Dorothy Parker has received credit for scandalous wordplay based on the following phrases: Sliding down a banister Sliding down a barrister Would you please explore this topic? Quote Investigator: The earliest …
John Buchan? Elizabeth Murray? Graham Greene? Dorothy Parker? Thomas Carter? H. L. Mencken? Sime Silverman? Karl Braun? Gene Byrnes? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: When you face a series of obstacles and successfully persevere you might employ the following saying. Here are three versions: It’s a great life if you don’t weaken. It’s a grand life …
Oscar Wilde? Seamus Heaney? Dorothy Parker? Israel Zangwill? Jen Kirkman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The body and the soul separate at the time of death according to many religious systems. Hence, the idiom “keep body and soul together” refers to maintaining life, i.e., earning enough money to maintain health and activity. The famous Irish wit …
Dorothy Parker? Alexander Woollcott? Israel Zangwill? Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The body and the soul separate at the time of death according to many religious systems. Hence, the idiom “keep body and soul together” refers to maintaining life, i.e., earning enough money to maintain health and activity. A quipster once reversed this formula …
Continue reading “Salary Is No Object; I Want Only Enough To Keep Body and Soul Apart”
Ernestine Ulmer? Arthur Murray? Earl Wilson? Leopold Fechtner? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: T-shirts and bumper stickers present a modern proverb about the precariousness of existence. Here are two versions: Eat dessert first because life is uncertain. Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first. Ernestine Ulmer often receives credit although that name is somewhat obscure. Would …
Babe Paley? Wallis Simpson? Suzy Knickerbocker? Mrs. J. Gordon Douglas Sr.? Gregg Moran? Truman Capote? Dorothy Parker? Joan Rivers? Zenith Carburetor? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Achieving wealth and a svelte body have become idealized goals in some cultural milieus. Here are three versions of a pertinent maxim: You can never be too rich or too …
Dorothy Parker? Jean Kerr? Charles Whitehead? Simon Suggs Jr.? Sam Stackpole? Abe Martin? Kin Hubbard? Herbert Spencer? Mort Walker? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Beauty is only skin-deep according to an adage that can be traced back to the 1600s. This assertion has inspired a wide variety of twisted reactions and elaborations. Here are three closely …
Continue reading “Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep, But Ugly Goes Clean To the Bone”
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: If you experience a wild and tumultuous love affair then you will probably become bored with an episode of staid affection. The famous wit Dorothy Parker wrote a poem on this topic containing the following elegant line: They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm. Sometimes reference works …
Continue reading “They Sicken of the Calm, Who Knew the Storm”
Dorothy Parker? Oscar Wilde? Mike Porter? Arch Ward? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Composing poetry is rarely a lucrative occupation. A traditional moralistic adage has been transformed into a comical warning for versifiers: Crime does not pay. Rhyme does not pay. This word play has been credited to the prominent wit Dorothy Parker who published multiple …