Tracing Quotations
Peter De Vries? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Do you know who is responsible for crafting the following vivid and humorous simile?: They made love as though they were an endangered species. Is this the correct phrasing? I do not know whether such lovemaking would be celebratory, frenetic, fatalistic, or hopeless. Reply …
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Groucho Marx? Robert Quillen? Robert O. Ryder? Dorothy Uris? Evan Esar? Agro B. Arlo? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The informal term “necking” refers to kissing and caressing amorously. A comedian once said: Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy. Do you know who crafted this joke? Was it …
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Christian Nestell Bovee? Evan Esar? Laurence J. Peter? Question for Quote Investigator: I once heard an observation that cogently explained the popularity of quotations. I do not recall the precise phrasing, but it was something like this: If you are unable to be witty yourself, the next best thing is being able to quote another’s …
Pete Seeger? Vesta M. Kelly? Mr. Minnick the Cynic? Old Timer? Bill Gold? Evan Esar? Saul Lavisky? Laurence J. Peter? Sydney J. Harris? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Comprehending the details of a complex legal contract is a daunting task. Yet, entrapment by an unnoticed provision of an agreement is a terrible experience. Here is …
Anatole France? Bertrand Russell? W. Somerset Maugham? Oliver Goldsmith? J. A. Schmit? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Fifty million people may parrot a false or foolish statement, but that will not metamorphose it into a true or sensible remark. Here are two instances in this family of statements: This saying has been …
Hyman Rickover? Martin Vanbee? Eleanor Roosevelt? Harry Myers? Laurence J. Peter? Sam Levenson? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: These two simple adages have a long history: Some wit crafted a hilarious addendum for the second adage: This construction has been attributed to U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman G. …
Nicholas Murray Butler? Tommy Lasorda? John Newbern? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a humorous three-fold categorization of people. The first group contains those who make things happen. Are you familiar with this saying? Would you please examine its provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: In March 1931 Nicholas Murray Butler who …
Art Buchwald? Henry James Lee? Mrs. Kenneth Clarke? Linda Godeau? Laurence J. Peter? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular modern adage de-emphasizes materialism: The best things in life aren’t things. This phrase has been attributed to the humorist Art Buchwald and the quotation collector Laurence J. Peter. What do you think? Reply from Quote …
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Albert Einstein? Truman Twill? Lyndon B. Johnson? Laurence J. Peter? Paul A. Freund? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Many sayings attributed to the scientific genius Albert Einstein concern the mind. Here is a funny example: If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? …
Archibald MacLeish? Laurence J. Peter? Earl Wilson? Eleanor Hoyt? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The American poet Archibald MacLeish apparently said that learning from experience was painful, but the alternative of not learning was worse. A similar remark has been ascribed to quotation collector Laurence J. Peter. Would you please examine this topic? Reply from …