Mark Twain? Satchel Paige? William Purkey? Susanna Clark? Richard Leigh? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following words are attributed to a variety of people including Mark Twain, Satchel Paige, and William Purkey: Sing like no one is listening. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth. …
Tag Archives: Mark Twain
The Covers of This Book Are Too Far Apart
Ambrose Bierce? Alan Le May? Jack Benny? Mark Twain? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The increasing popularity of ebooks is threatening to make one of my favorite quotations obsolete. The wonderful humorist Ambrose Bierce was asked to evaluate a lengthy soporific tome and according to legend he handed in a devastating and hilarious one-line review: The …
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History Does Not Repeat Itself, But It Rhymes
Mark Twain? Theodor Reik? John Robert Colombo? James Eayrs? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular humorous maxim about history that is usually attributed to Mark Twain. But there is so much uncertainty about this ascription that a top business columnist for the “New York Times” wrote the following:[1] 2011 June 19, New York …
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Let Us Make a Special Effort to Stop Communicating with Each Other, So We Can Have Some Conversation
Mark Twain? Miss Manners? Judith Martin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I am considering using a quotation that is attributed to Mark Twain in the conclusion of my Master’s Thesis about social media. Unfortunately, I have been unable to verify the ascription, and the origin of the expression is uncertain: Let us make a special effort …
Quote Origin: Kindness Is a Language Which the Deaf Can Hear and the Blind Can See
Mark Twain? Christian Nestell Bovee? Eva Alice? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently I clicked on a link that led to a top business-oriented website and was greeted by an interstitial page that displayed a quotation attributed to Mark Twain: Kindness is a language which the deaf and the blind can read. I thought this …
It’s Difficult to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future
Niels Bohr? Samuel Goldwyn? K. K. Steincke? Robert Storm Petersen? Yogi Berra? Mark Twain? Nostradamus? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of popular humorous sayings about the formidable task of successful prognostication. Here are five examples: It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. Predictions are hazardous, especially about the future. …
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I Am an Old Man and Have Known a Great Many Troubles, But Most of Them Never Happened
Mark Twain? Thomas Jefferson? Martin Farquhar Tupper? Seneca? Winston Churchill? James A. Garfield? Thomas Dixon? Michel de Montaigne? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Everyone faces difficulties in life; however, the worry-filled anticipation of possible setbacks pointlessly magnifies dangers. A comical statement illuminating this theme has been attributed to both Mark Twain and Winston Churchill: I am …
Forgiveness Is the Fragrance the Violet Sheds on the Heel That Has Crushed It
Mark Twain? George Roemisch? Sophia May Eckley? Ella A. Giles? Elizabeth Reeves Humphreys? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following evocative metaphorical definition of forgiveness is often attributed to Mark Twain: Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. But I have seen the quotation below credited to someone …
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When I Was Younger, I Could Remember Anything, Whether It Had Happened or Not
Mark Twain? Albert Bigelow Paine? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Mark Twain formulated a wonderful expression about the fallibility of memory as one grows older. Here is the beginning of his humorous saying: When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not. My own memory may be failing because I think …
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Whiskey Is for Drinking; Water Is for Fighting Over
Mark Twain? Warren Neufeld? Bruce Babbitt? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Fresh water is an essential resource, and the battles over water rights in the Western region of the United States can be bruising. Famed humorist Mark Twain is often given credit for an incisively funny remark about this. Here are three versions: Whiskey is for …
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