Tracing Quotations
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 …
Continue reading “Politician: Straddling the Fence With Both Ears To the Ground”
George Bernard Shaw? Albert Schweitzer? Life Magazine? Mohandas Gandhi? Ferdinand Pecora? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Some thinkers believe that humanity has not yet achieved an advanced society worthy of the name “civilization”. This notion has been expressed with the following dialog: “What’s your idea of civilization?” “It’s a good idea. Somebody ought to start it.” …
Dorothy Parker? Life Magazine? Maxson Foxhall Judell? Edwin G. Nourse? Tom Lehrer? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage about age and recalcitrance is familiar to many: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I am trying to trace a comical wordplay variant: You cannot teach an old dogma new tricks. This statement is …
Thomas R. Ybarra? Contributor to Life Magazine? Victor L. Berger? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Individuals who attend church services without sincerity have long been criticized with the following sardonic description: Those who repent on Sunday, For what they did on Saturday, And plan to do again on Monday. I have been unable to determine who …
Continue reading “Repentance on a Sunday for What One Has Done on Saturday”