Tracing Quotations
Fanny Brice? Fannie Hurst? Norman Katkov? Ray Stark? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Falling in love with someone occurs because of unconstrained desires and emotions. The decision is not based on clearsighted logic and rationality. In retrospect, an infatuation might seem foolish or destructive. An unhappy humorist once commented on this behavior. Here are two versions: …
Continue reading “I Never Liked the Men I Loved, and Never Loved the Men I Liked”
Fanny Brice? Alice Roosevelt Longworth? Beatrice Lillie? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Giving birth to a child is an intense physical ordeal. A witty woman employed the following simile: Having a baby is like trying to push a grand piano through a transom. This remark has been attributed to the prominent Washington socialite Alice Roosevelt Longworth …
Continue reading “Giving Birth Is Like Pushing a Piano Through a Transom”
Fanny Brice? Beatrice Kaufman? Joe E. Lewis? Sophie Tucker? Johnny Hyde? Jack Herbert? Harold Gray? Bernice Fitz-Gibbon? Bob Mankoff? Question for Quote Investigator: A newly wealthy person sometimes feels sentimental about an earlier period of poverty. Yet, one well-heeled individual unapologetically proclaimed: I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. And, believe me, rich is better. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I’ve Been Poor, and I’ve Been Rich. Rich Is Better!”
Groucho Marx? Marshall Reid? Fanny Brice? Frank Case? Jane Ace? Goodman Ace? Rudy Vallée? Verree Teasdale? Robert Bloch? John Lennon? Ann Landers? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following humorous pun about comeuppance for poor behavior has been attributed to the famous comedian Groucho Marx. The slang term “heel” refers to a contemptible person: Time …