Quote Origin: I Admire and Crave Competence In Any Field From Adultery to Zoology

H. L. Mencken? Alistair Cooke? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent journalist once celebrated the display of competence in any discipline from A to Z by saying something like the following: I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology. The statement has been attributed to the famous …

Quote Origin: Those Who Most Dislike Puns Are Least Able To Utter Them

Edgar Allan Poe? Jonathan Swift? Mary Livingstone? Oscar Levant? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Creating humorous puns is difficult which may help to explain why detractors are so harsh. A wit once said: Those who most dislike puns are least able to utter them The master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe …

The Trouble About Fighting for Human Freedom Is That You Have To Spend Much of Your Life Defending Sons-of-Bitches

H.L. Mencken? Gerald W. Johnson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Oppressive laws are sometimes promulgated to target unsavory individuals. The opposition to these laws requires defending these individuals. The famous Baltimore journalist and commentator H. L. Mencken apparently said something like the following: The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most …

Dear Sir (Or Madam), You May Be Right

H. L. Mencken? Jack Dempsey? Peg Bracken? Bennett Cerf? Alexander Woollcott? Stewart Holbrook? William Safire? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Forceful newspaper columnists often receive opinionated and hostile responses. There is a powerful temptation to send a sharp retort. Yet, one famous journalist typically replied with a brief disarming note: Dear Sir (or Madam ), You …

Quote Origin: It’s a Great Life If You Don’t Weaken

John Buchan? Elizabeth Murray? Graham Greene? Dorothy Parker? Thomas Carter? H. L. Mencken? Sime Silverman? Karl Braun? Gene Byrnes? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When you face a series of obstacles and successfully persevere you might employ the following saying. Here are three versions: It’s a great life if you don’t weaken. It’s a grand …

Time Is Too Slow for Those Who Wait; Too Swift for Those Who Fear

William Shakespeare? Henry van Dyke? Alice Morse Earle? Katrina Trask? H. L. Mencken? Lady Jane Fellowes? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following lines have been credited to the famous English playwright and poet William Shakespeare: Time is very slow for those who wait Very fast for those who are scared Very long for those who …

If I Owned Hell and Texas, I Would Rent Texas and Live at the Other Place

Philip Sheridan? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Texas is a beloved state to many, but it also has detractors. One comical remark compares the state unfavorably to Hades: If I owned Hell and Texas, I’d rent out Texas and live in Hell. Would you please explore the provenance of this joke? Quote Investigator: …

The Trouble with Communism is the Communists, Just as the Trouble with Christianity is the Christians

H. L. Mencken? Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The U.S. satirist and curmudgeon H. L. Mencken apparently employed the following saying. Here are two versions: The trouble with communism are the communists. The trouble with communism is the communists. If this remark is authentic would you please help me to find a …

Politician: Straddling the Fence With Both Ears To the Ground

H. L. Mencken? Arthur Stanwood Pier? L. Curry Morton? Life Magazine? Sylvester K. Stevens? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A startling and funny depiction of a politician has been constructed by mixing two vivid metaphors: A politician is an animal who can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground. This remark …

The United Voice of Myriads Cannot Lend the Smallest Foundation To Falsehood

Oliver Goldsmith? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: In the Internet Age a falsehood is sometimes repeated incessantly and propagated across the world. Yet, the collective voice of one million people cannot transform a falsehood into a truth. This insight has a long history. The prominent Anglo-Irish novelist and playwright Oliver Goldsmith said something …