Tracing Quotations
George Bernard Shaw? Brendan Behan? Reba Lombard? Arthur Caesar? George Jean Nathan? Erskine Johnson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A remarkably large number of utterances from the prominent Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw appear in quotation collections. Apparently, he once humorously commented on his quoteworthiness. Here are three versions: I often quote myself. It adds spice …
Continue reading “I Often Quote Myself. It Adds Spice To My Conversation”
H. L. Mencken? George Jean Nathan? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous curmudgeon H. L. Mencken asserted that the most daring liars were rewarded with public admiration. I do not recall the precise phrasing Mencken employed. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1922 “The Smart Set” magazine published a …
Continue reading “The Men the American People Admire Most Extravagantly Are the Most Daring Liars”
H. L. Mencken? George Jean Nathan? Nellie McClung? Beverly Gray? John Cleese? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Here are four versions of a mordant definition of puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. The lurking fear that someone somewhere is happy. The gnawing worry that someone somewhere might be happy. The haunting fear …
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H. L. Mencken? George Jean Nathan? Errol Flynn? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: During the December holiday season imbibing is commonplace. “Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words” lists ‘ombibulous’ with the following definition:[ref] 1980 (1974 Copyright), Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words by Josefa Heifetz Byrne, Entry: ombibulous, Quote Page …
Continue reading “I Am Omnibibulous, or, More Simply, Ombibulous”
Dorothy Parker? George Jean Nathan? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The trenchant prose of Dorothy Parker has always impressed me. Reportedly she once lacerated a writer who was receiving a superfluity of undeserved accolades with the following: He is a writer for the ages — the ages of four to eight. Is this Parker’s joke? When …
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Virginia Woolf? Molière? Ferenc Molnár? Philippe Halsman? Ad Reinhardt? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently I was invited to conduct a workshop about writing and creativity. While reviewing materials on this topic I repeatedly came across a humorous quotation that pertains to commercialism. Here is one version: Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, …
Continue reading “I Did It For My Own Pleasure. Then I Did It For My Friends. Now I Do It For Money”
Groucho Marx? Walter Winchell? George S. Kaufman? George Jean Nathan? Dear Quote Investigator: When a friend asked me my opinion of a terrible play that I saw recently I answered: I did not like it, but perhaps this judgment is unfair. I saw it under adverse conditions — the curtain was up. Eventually she coaxed …
Continue reading “Theatrical Review: I Saw It Under Adverse Conditions. The Curtain Was Up”