Israel Zangwill? G. K. Chesterton? George Bernard Shaw? William Thomas Stead? H. G. Wells? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Intellectuals often think very highly of themselves. One wit satirized this self-absorption with the following quip: The way he believes in himself is very refreshing in these atheistic days when so many believe in no God …
Tag Archives: George Bernard Shaw
Quote Origin: All Art Is Propaganda
Upton Sinclair? W. E. B. Du Bois? George Orwell? George Bernard Shaw? Ann Petry? Morris Edmund Speare? Richard Hunt? Ludwig Lewisohn? Edmund Wilson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Advocates often extoll their visions with strong-willed certainty. Insistent artists are accused of preaching and propagandizing. Yet, this criticism is sometimes provocatively embraced. Here are three assertions: …
Quote Origin: People Do Not Stop Playing Because They Grow Old; They Grow Old Because They Stop Playing
Herbert Spencer? G. Stanley Hall? Karl Groos? George L. Knapp? George Bernard Shaw? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Children enjoy playing, yet this rambunctious and exploratory spirit often fades with age. The following adage encourages the retention of a youthful temperament. Here are four versions: (1) People do not cease playing because they grow old, …
Quote Origin: We Learn From History That We Do Not Learn From History
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel? Aldous Huxley? George Bernard Shaw? Henry Tizard? Caroline Thomas Harnsberger? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The historical record displays clear patterns, yet there is enormous resistance to learning from these patterns. Here are two versions of a humorously contradictory adage: (1) We learn from history that we do not learn from …
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Quote Origin: I Have Been Misquoted Everywhere, and the Inaccuracies Are Chasing Me Round the World
George Bernard Shaw? Ritchie Calder? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Prominent Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw is a misquotation magnet. Numerous remarks have been ascribed to him that he never said. Apparently, he once grumbled about being “misquoted everywhere”. He believed that the inaccuracies were chasing him around the world. Would you please help me …
Quote Origin: Being Irish, He Had an Abiding Sense of Tragedy Which Sustained Him Through Temporary Periods of Joy
William Butler Yeats? John Millington Synge? Oliver Stone? George Bernard Shaw? Mary Higgins Clark? Martha Manning? Paul Greenberg? James Finn Garner? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The painful history of the island of Ireland has produced numerous inhabitants with a melancholy disposition. This notion is reflected in the following humorously inverted saying: Being Irish, …
I Always Advise People Never To Give Advice
P. G. Wodehouse? George Bernard Shaw? Smallwood Bessemer? Bob Chieger? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous wit once offered the following piece of self-contradictory advice: Never take advice. Another prominent humorist offered a similar piece of oxymoronic guidance: Never give advice. Would you please help me to find these citations together with the correct …
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“Lots of People Talk To Animals” “Not Very Many Listen, Though”
A. A. Milne? Piglet? Owl? Pooh? Benjamin Hoff? George Bernard Shaw? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following dialog has been ascribed to the famous English author A. A. Milne: Pooh: Lots of people talk to animals. Owl: Maybe, but . . . Not very many listen, though. Pooh: That’s the problem. I am skeptical …
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Flowers: Don’t Cut Off Their Heads and Stick Them in Pots
George Bernard Shaw? Blanche Patch? Archibald Henderson? Bennett Cerf? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A visitor to the home of a famous wit expected to find vases filled with beautiful cut flowers, but there were none. The wit explained the absence by making a comically grotesque comparison between cut flowers and decapitated people. …
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“Lady X Will Be At Home Thursday Between 4 and 6” “Mr. Bernard Shaw Likewise”
George Bernard Shaw? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A person who was enamored with celebrities wanted George Bernard Shaw to attend a social gathering. Several attempts at interesting Shaw failed. So a formal invitation was sent. Shaw appended a short reply and sent the note back: “Lord X will be at home on …
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