Quote Origin: There Is Less in This Than Meets the Eye

Tallulah Bankhead? Dorothy Parker? Robert Benchley? James Boswell? Richard Burke? William Hazlitt? Question for Quote Investigator: The actress Tallulah Bankhead was watching an ostentatious play, and she whispered to her companion a hilarious line based on an inverted cliché: There is less in this than meets the eye. This quip has also been attributed to …

Quote Origin: Change One Letter in That Phrase and You Have My Life Story

Dorothy Parker? Ben Hecht? Corey Ford? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker apparently constructed a risqué quip when she observed people ducking for apples at a party. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of Parker’s jest located by QI appeared in the 1957 book …

Quote Origin: Brevity Is the Soul of Lingerie

Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: William Shakespeare memorably wrote that: Brevity is the soul of wit. The wordsmith Dorothy Parker famously transformed the Bard’s phrase into a humorous and erotic remark: Brevity is the soul of lingerie. Several quotation references list Parker’s statement, but the earliest citation I’ve seen is indirect; a friend …

Quote Origin: Make a Sentence Using the Word Horticulture

Dorothy Parker? The Virginia Spectator? The Daily Standard of Sikeston, Missouri? Alexander Woollcott? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Dorothy Parker was famous for her coruscating wit, and she once employed a notoriously bawdy pun based on the word horticulture. Was she responsible for originating this pun? Reply from Quote Investigator: There is substantive evidence that …

Quote Origin: The Cure for Boredom Is Curiosity. There Is No Cure for Curiosity

Dorothy Parker? Ellen Parr? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement about curiosity has been attributed to the well-known wit Dorothy Parker and someone named Ellen Parr: The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. Would you please examine the provenance of this saying? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest …

Quote Origin: First I Brush My Teeth and Then I Sharpen My Tongue

Dorothy Parker? Oscar Levant? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famously trenchant wit was once asked to describe the daily routine followed after arising: I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth, and then I sharpen my tongue. These words have been attributed to the writer Dorothy Parker and to the pianist comedian …

Quote Origin: Have You Tried Curiosity?

Dorothy Parker? Leonard Lyons? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker was a friend of Alexander Woollcott, a notable writer for “The New Yorker” magazine. When Woollcott’s ancient cat developed a serious malady he was told by a veterinarian that the animal would have to be put to sleep. Uncertain of how …

Dialogue Origin: “She Is Always Kind to Her Inferiors” “But Where Does She Find Them?”

Dorothy Parker? Mark Twain? Samuel Johnson? Sidney Skolsky? Margaret Case Harriman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The scintillating wit Dorothy Parker once listened to an enumeration of the many positive attributes of a person she disliked. Below is the final statement of praise together with Parker’s acerbic response: “She is always kind to her inferiors.” …

Quote Origin: Shoot Them Now, While They’re Happy

Dorothy Parker? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant wit Dorothy Parker’s career was based on writing. She composed screenplays in Hollywood, and she authored columns for the magazines “Esquire” and “The New Yorker”. Yet, she was not always happy with her literary livelihood. Recently on Pinterest I saw a piece of comically lethal acerbic …

Quote Origin: You Can’t Teach an Old Dogma New Tricks

Dorothy Parker? Life Magazine? Maxson Foxhall Judell? Edwin G. Nourse? Tom Lehrer? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following adage about age and recalcitrance is familiar to many: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I am trying to trace a comical wordplay variant: You cannot teach an old dogma new tricks. This statement …