Tracing Quotations
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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Admire and Crave Competence In Any Field From Adultery to Zoology”
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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Those Who Most Dislike Puns Are Least Able To Utter Them”
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 …
H. L. Mencken? Jack Dempsey? Peg Bracken? Bennett Cerf? Alexander Woollcott? Stewart Holbrook? William Safire? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
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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 life …
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William Shakespeare? Henry van Dyke? Alice Morse Earle? Katrina Trask? H. L. Mencken? Lady Jane Fellowes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following lines have been credited to the famous English playwright and poet William Shakespeare: Time is very slow for those who waitVery fast for those who are scaredVery long for those who lamentVery …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Time Is Too Slow for Those Who Wait; Too Swift for Those Who Fear”
Philip Sheridan? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Question for 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? Reply …
H. L. Mencken? Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
H. L. Mencken? Arthur Stanwood Pier? L. Curry Morton? Life Magazine? Sylvester K. Stevens? Anonymous? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Politician Straddles the Fence With Both Ears To the Ground”
Oliver Goldsmith? H. L. Mencken? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …