Tracing Quotations
Jorge Luis Borges? Phaedrus? Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian? Clarke Jervoise? Leo Tolstoy? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following trenchant simile is the best description of a futile conflict that I have ever heard: The clash was like two bald men fighting over a comb. The prominent Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges …
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Leo Tolstoy? Edwin H. Stuart? Elinor Glyn? Henry Traphagen? Art Buchwald? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: While I am working hard on a complex project my desk usually becomes messy, but I take comfort in the following sayings: Would you please explore the history of this modern adage? Reply from Quote Investigator: A strong match …
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Leo Tolstoy? A. B. Goldenveizer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: November is National Novel Writing Month; a participant is supposed to commit to writing 50,000 words during the 30 days of the month. Sustaining that pace would be difficult for me because I am irresistibly drawn to rewriting. The brilliant Russian writer Leo Tolstoy once …
Fyodor Dostoyevsky? Leo Tolstoy? Mary Morris? John Gardner? David Long? Ernest Hemingway? Deepak Chopra? Question for Quote Investigator: A provocative remark about stories has been attributed to Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, John Gardner, and others: There are only two plots in all of literature: 1) A person goes on a journey. 2) A stranger comes …