Tracing Quotations
Who Made the Criticism: Dorothy Parker? Blanca Holmes? Vincent Sheean? Sidney Skolsky? Anonymous? Who Was Being Criticized: Alan Campbell? Lloyd George? Orson Welles? Question for Quote Investigator: A person who is tough and adaptable is able to absorb setbacks in life and continue onward. This capability is represented metaphorically by a tumbler who lands upright. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: No Matter What Happens He Will Land On Someone Else’s Feet”
Dorothy Parker? Yogi Berra? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Numerous sharp remarks have been credited incorrectly to the well-known wit Dorothy Parker. She was well aware of these misattributions, and she once commented that many of those clever remarks were not hers. Would you please help me to find a citation for her general disclaimer? …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Say Hardly Any of Those Clever Things That Are Attributed To Me”
Dorothy Parker? Alexander Woollcott? Bennett Cerf? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The idiom “to crawl out of the woodwork” refers to an unpleasant person or thing that quickly emerges from hiding or obscurity. The companion idiom “to crawl back into the woodwork” refers to the person or thing disappearing. The authoritative Oxford English Dictionary has …
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Dorothy Parker? Alexander Woollcott? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A patient in a modern hospital room can push a button to call for the help of a nurse; however, on occasion, the response time is long because nurses have many medical tasks to perform. The famous wit Dorothy Parker created a joke on this topic. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Ring It Whenever I Want an Hour of Uninterrupted Privacy”
Dorothy Parker? Tallulah Bankhead? Edith Gwynn? Roy Blount Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The 1948 war novel “The Naked and the Dead” by Norman Mailer employed the euphemism “fug” (“fugged”, “fugging”) instead of the four-letter word for intercourse. According to a popular literary legend, a witty woman who was introduced to Mailer shortly after …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Oh—You’re the Man Who Can’t Spell”
Dorothy Parker? Susan Sontag? Alix Nelson? Ross Macdonald? Kenneth Millar? Tom Samet? Edmund Wilson? Anne Ruggles Gere? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Yesterday, while reading an acerbic episode within a stylish memoir I recalled the following adage: Writing well is the best revenge. These words are often credited to the famous wit Dorothy Parker, but …
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Dorothy Parker? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker was well known for her sometimes controversial witticisms. Apparently, one of her remarks was based on clichés about the vanity, mannerisms, and/or sexuality of actors. Would you please examine this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Scratch an Actor and You’ll Find an Actress”
Dorothy Parker? Margaret Irwin? Kingsley Martin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The writers, artists, and intellectuals of the Bloomsbury Group formed complex and shifting intimate relationships. A wit once said: They lived in squares and loved in triangles. The geometric wordplay referred to the residences of the group. For example, Leonard and Virginia Woolf lived …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: All the Couples Were Triangles and Lived in Squares”
Dorothy Parker? Pauline Kael? Question for Quote Investigator: The decision to greenlight a movie in Hollywood is complicated and protracted. Those eager to make films experience a mixture of encouragement, uncertainty, delays, and heartbreak. Here are two versions of a germane witticism: These words have been credited to author Dorothy Parker and movie critic Pauline …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Hollywood Is the Only Place Where You Can Die of Encouragement”
Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The well-known wit Dorothy Parker brought forth laughter from others, but personally she experienced episodes of depression. Apparently, when her doorbell rang she would sometimes proclaim: What fresh hell is this? Is this an accurate claim? Reply from Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker died in 1967, and her earliest …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: What Fresh Hell Can This Be?”