Oscar Wilde? George Bernard Shaw? Ambrose Bierce? Charles Frederick Joy? Percival Christopher Wren? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you are attending a soporific party, and the host asks whether you are content you might reply with the following comically self-absorbed zinger attributed to the famous Irish wit Oscar Wilde: “Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. …
Tag Archives: George Bernard Shaw
Quote Origin: This World Is the Lunatic Asylum of the Universe
Mark Twain? Thomas Jefferson? Voltaire? Edward Young? George Bernard Shaw? Laird MacKenzie? Elsie McCormick? Bertrand Russell? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Several thinkers have offered an anguished explanation for the dangerously disordered state of the world. Here are four versions: This notion has been credited to Mark Twain, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, George …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: This World Is the Lunatic Asylum of the Universe”
Quote Origin: This Earth Is Used By Other Planets as a Lunatic Asylum
George Bernard Shaw? Voltaire? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Influential intellectuals have experienced cosmic despair while observing the behavior of humankind. Here are some statements I have heard attributed to Voltaire, George Bernard Shaw and others: Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: This is a complex topic; hence, QI will split …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: This Earth Is Used By Other Planets as a Lunatic Asylum”
Quote Origin: A Life Spent in Making Mistakes Is Not Only More Honorable But More Useful Than a Life Spent Doing Nothing
Creator: George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic Context: Shaw’s play “The Doctor’s Dilemma” was first staged in London in 1906. In 1911 Shaw published the text of drama together with a lengthy preface which included the following passage. Emphasis added: Attention and activity lead to mistakes as well as to successes; but a life …
Quote Origin: A Drama Critic Leaves No Turn Unstoned
George Bernard Shaw? Catholic Standard and Times? Ethel Watts Mumford? Oliver Herford? Addison Mizner? Arthur Wimperis? Colette d’Arville? Ogden Nash? Diana Rigg? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous playwright George Bernard Shaw has been credited with a clever bit of wordplay concerning the role of a critic. The quip transforms the following venerable idiom describing …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Drama Critic Leaves No Turn Unstoned”
Quote Origin: Never Wrestle with a Pig. You Both Get Dirty and the Pig Likes It
George Bernard Shaw? Mark Twain? Abraham Lincoln? Cyrus Stuart Ching? J. Frank Condon? Richard P. Calhoon? N. H. Eagle? Cale Yarborough? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular metaphorical adage warns individuals not to engage with disreputable critics. Here are two versions: This saying has been credited to a triumvirate of quotation superstars: Mark Twain, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Never Wrestle with a Pig. You Both Get Dirty and the Pig Likes It”
Quote Origin: It Is the Customary Fate of New Truths to Begin as Heresies and to End as Superstitions
Thomas Henry Huxley? George Bernard Shaw? Garrett Hardin? Caryl P. Haskins? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An influential idea passes through three stages: 1) Begins as heresy2) Turns into orthodoxy,3) Ends up as superstition. I cannot remember who said this. Can you help? Reply from Quote Investigator: There are several different quotations that describe the …
Quote Origin: The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is Damnable
Lord Chesterfield? Hilaire Belloc? D. H. Lawrence? George Bernard Shaw? Alexander Duffield? W. Somerset Maugham? Elliot Paul? Samuel Hopkins Adams? Benjamin Franklin? P. D. James? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Lord Chesterfield reportedly crafted an outrageously humorous description of intimate relations. I’ve seen different versions that each comment on pleasure, position, and expense. Yet, …
Quote Origin: Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results
Albert Einstein? Al-Anon? Narcotics Anonymous? Max Nordau? George Bernard Shaw? Samuel Beckett? George A. Kelly? Rita Mae Brown? John Larroquette? Jessie Potter? Werner Erhard? Question for Quote Investigator: It’s foolish to repeat ineffective actions. One popular formulation presents this point harshly: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and …
Quote Origin: The Three Most Famous Names in History Are Jesus Christ, Sherlock Holmes, and Harry Houdini
George Bernard Shaw? Otto Penzler? James Thurber? Harold Ross? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Reportedly, George Bernard Shaw once presented an idiosyncratic list of the three most famous individuals: Jesus Christ, Sherlock Holmes, and Harry Houdini. Did Shaw really put forward this triptych? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence known to QI appeared in …