Tracing Quotations
Voltaire? Richard Francis Burton? Judith Krantz? Bennett Cerf? Norman Mailer? Jean Cocteau? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A notorious anecdote claims that a prominent philosopher was once asked to join a group of libertines engaging in carnal behavior. The philosopher consented, and the group admired the performance. Yet, when asked to join the group again …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Once a Philosopher; Twice a Pervert”
James Baldwin? Norman Mailer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Individuals who consider themselves to be pure in heart are unable to recognize their own flaws. This can lead to wrong-headed and disastrous actions. The prominent novelist and essayist James Baldwin once made a comparable point about benighted self-assessment. Would you please help me to find …
Norman Mailer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: U.S. journalist and best-selling novelist Norman Mailer once sardonically stated that when newspapers focus on a story the facts are lost forever; inevitably, even the participants lose track of the facts. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In June 1960 “Esquire” …
Dorothy Parker? Tallulah Bankhead? Edith Gwynn? Roy Blount Jr.? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The 1948 war novel “The Naked and the Dead” by Norman Mailer employed the euphemism “fug” (“fugged”, “fugging”) instead of the four-letter word for intercourse. According to a popular literary legend, a witty woman who was introduced to Mailer shortly after …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Oh—You’re the Man Who Can’t Spell”
Robert Anderson? William Goodhart? Sam Taylor? Israel Horovitz? John Guare? Sherwood Anderson? Ron Dante? Norman Mailer? Question for Quote Investigator: Trying to build a career in the entertainment industry is precarious. One play, movie, or album might be a huge and lucrative hit for an artist, but the next project might be a complete money-losing …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Can Make a Killing in the Theater, But Not a Living”
Gore Vidal? Wilfrid Sheed? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a mordant expression that reflects the corrosive nature of jealousy. Here are four versions: 1) Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies. 2) Every time a friend succeeds I die a little. 3) When a friend succeeds, a small part of …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Whenever a Friend Succeeds, a Little Something in Me Dies”