Arthur Conan Doyle? Edgar Allan Poe? Dorothy L. Sayers? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous fictional detective once explained the methodology for solving mysteries. The sleuth should gather facts and systematically eliminate hypotheses that are impossible. When a single hypothesis remains, however improbable, it must be the truth. The description of this approach has …
Tag Archives: Edgar Allan Poe
Quote Origin: The Pun Is the Lowest Form of Humor When You Don’t Think of It First
Mary Livingstone? Oscar Levant? John Dryden? Jonathan Swift? Edgar Allan Poe? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The utterance of a pun is sometimes greeted with the assertion that puns are the lowest form of humor, but a humorist once explained the true reason behind this criticism. The complainer was unable to think of the pun …
Quote Origin: Those Who Most Dislike Puns Are Least Able To Utter Them
Edgar Allan Poe? Jonathan Swift? Mary Livingstone? Oscar Levant? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Creating humorous puns is difficult which may help to explain why detractors are so harsh. A wit once said: Those who most dislike puns are least able to utter them The master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe …
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Quote Origin: Punning Is a Talent Which No Man Affects To Despise, But He That Is Without It
Jonathan Swift? Edgar Allan Poe? Mary Livingstone? Oscar Levant? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The dislike of puns is rooted in jealousy. A wit once said something like the following: Punning is a talent which no one despises except those without it. This notion has been attributed to Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, U.S. horror writer …
If a Poem Hasn’t Ripped Apart Your Soul, You Haven’t Experienced Poetry
Edgar Allan Poe? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A hyperbolic statement about poetry has been credited to the major literary figure Edgar Allan Poe: If a poem hasn’t ripped apart your soul, you haven’t experienced poetry. Could this possibly be a genuine remark from Poe? Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Edgar Allan …
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The Lunatics Have Taken Charge of the Asylum
Edgar Allan Poe? Richard Rowland? Terry Ramsaye? Laurence Stallings? H. L. Mencken? William Gibbs McAdoo? Jack Oakie? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The leaders of a group often face a variety of criticisms. Harsh detractors employ a vivid metaphor from the domain of mental health. Here are two examples: The lunatics have taken over the asylum. …
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The Enormous Multiplication of Books in Every Branch of Knowledge is One of the Greatest Evils of This Age
Edgar Allan Poe? Alfred Smee? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The number of new books has increased vertiginously in recent years, but even in the nineteenth century critics lamented an oversupply. Did the major literary figure Edgar Allan Poe complain that the proliferation of books was “one of the greatest evils” of his age? Quote Investigator: …
Quote Origin: Believe Nothing You Hear, and Only One Half That You See
Edgar Allan Poe? Samuel Johnson? William Johnson Neale? Dinah Craik? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following hyperbolic proverb encouraging skepticism has been credited to the master of mystery and the macabre Edgar Allan Poe: Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear. Did Poe craft this saying? Reply from Quote …
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All Religion, My Friend, Is Simply Evolved Out of Chicanery, Fear, Greed, Imagination and Poetry
Edgar Allan Poe? William Barton? John A. Joyce? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following remark has been ascribed to the master of mystery and the macabre Edgar Allan Poe Religion evolved out of fraud, fear, and greed. Is this quotation accurate? Quote Investigator: A controversial remark of this type was included in a 1901 biography …
It’s Easy Enough, My Friend, to Dream of Utopian Worlds Afar…
Edgar Allan Poe? Ted Olson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a verse stating that only one person out of one-hundred is actively working toward making bold dreams come true. This notion has been ascribed to the horror master Edgar Allan Poe. Are you familiar with this verse? Would you please examine this topic? Quote …
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