Tracing Quotations
Joey Adams? Yip Harburg? Evan Esar? Judge Magazine? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A loving kiss is wonderful, but it should be with the right person. A deceptive kiss is perilous. A family of quips about the dangers of osculation uses a rhetorical device called antimetabole. Words in the first half of a statement are …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Never Let a Fool Kiss You, and Never Let a Kiss Fool You”
Robert Frost? Lillian Russell? Fliegende Blätter? Evan Esar? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An old-fashioned quip about vanity and aging states that a diplomat always remembers a person’s birthday but never remembers a person’s age. This joke has been attributed to the famous U.S. poet Robert Frost, but I have been unable to find a …
Groucho Marx? Robert Quillen? Robert O. Ryder? Dorothy Uris? Evan Esar? Agro B. Arlo? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The informal term “necking” refers to kissing and caressing amorously. A comedian once said: Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy. Do you know who crafted this joke? Was it Groucho …
Continue reading “Whoever Named It Necking Was a Poor Judge of Anatomy”
Evan Esar? Jacob M. Braude? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: You have already explored a quip about success and work that cleverly referred to their alphabetical order. I’ve seen a similar joke about divorce and marriage: The dictionary is the only place where divorce comes before marriage. Which of these two jests emerged first? Would you …
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Sydney J. Harris? Beulah Schacht? Sol Margoles? Evan Esar? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A nearly paradoxical piece of advice states that the best time to relax is when you feel unable to relax because of time pressures. Would you please explore this adage. Quote Investigator: Here is a family of closely related statements with dates: …
Continue reading “The Time To Relax Is When You Don’t Have Time For It”
Christian Nestell Bovee? Evan Esar? Laurence J. Peter? Dear Quote Investigator: I once heard an observation that cogently explained the popularity of quotations. I do not recall the precise phrasing, but it was something like this: If you are unable to be witty yourself, the next best thing is being able to quote another’s wit. …
Pete Seeger? Vesta M. Kelly? Mr. Minnick the Cynic? Old Timer? Bill Gold? Evan Esar? Saul Lavisky? Laurence J. Peter? Sydney J. Harris? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Comprehending the details of a complex legal contract is a daunting task. Yet, entrapment by an unnoticed provision of an agreement is a terrible experience. Here is a …
Sydney Smith? Punch? Evan Esar? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A disagreement between two people is sometimes caused by a difference in underlying assumptions. Two individuals arguing from different premises are likely to reach different conclusions. This notion can be comically transformed via a pun on the word “premises” which can mean “assumptions” or “residences”. The …
Continue reading “They Will Never Agree. They Argue from Different Premises”
A. K. Karlson? High School Motto? Evan Esar? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The word “can” designates the ability to accomplish a task. “Can” also specifies a container. I recall the following wordplay-based inspirational maxims: Success comes in cans, failure in can’ts. Success comes in cans—I can, you can, we can. Would you please explore this …
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Creator: Wilson Mizner, playwright, entrepreneur, adventurer Context: Mizner died in 1933. A biography of his colorful life appeared in 1935 called “The Fabulous Wilson Mizner” by Edward Dean Sullivan. The chapter “Miznerisms” was dedicated to his witticisms. Here were three. Emphasis added to excerpts:[ref] 1935, The Fabulous Wilson Mizner by Edward Dean Sullivan, Chapter 17: …