Tracing Quotations
Oscar Wilde? Felix Grendon? Percy Colson? Walter Winchell? Reader’s Digest? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A well-known moral injunction states that one should forgive one’s enemies. A humorous twist suggests that one should grant forgiveness because it produces annoyance in one’s adversaries. This notion has been attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde. Would you please …
Continue reading “Always Forgive Your Enemies; Nothing Annoys Them So Much”
Oscar Wilde? Lloyd Lewis? Henry Justin Smith? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous wit Oscar Wilde apparently expressed some forward thinking ideas about the environment. He believed that the natural world should be preserved so that it can be conveyed to our children in the condition it was received. Would you please help me to …
Oscar Wilde? Ada Leverson? Hesketh Pearson? Leslie Stokes? Sewell Stokes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Charles Dickens published “The Old Curiosity Shop” in 1841. Nell Trent (Little Nell) was the virtuous child protagonist of the tale. The book was extremely popular, and most contemporary readers were saddened when they learned of Nell’s demise. Yet, some …
Oscar Wilde? Felix Unger? Tony Randall? John Glick? Clarence L. Lollar? Dick West? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Making unfounded assumptions causes endless difficulties. A clever quip highlighting this problem is based on splitting a word into three parts: It is dangerous to assume because you might make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. This …
George Bernard Shaw? Oscar Wilde? Clarence Rook? Alexander Woollcott? Hesketh Pearson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A playwright feared that his upcoming work was about to flop at the box office. After the surprisingly successful inaugural performance the bewildered playwright appeared on stage. Amongst the resounding cheers there was a barely audible hiss. The playwright addressed …
Continue reading “I Quite Agree With You, But Who Are We Two Against So Many?”
Oscar Wilde? Titus Lucretius Carus? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: One person may enjoy a food or activity that another person finds repellent. A well-known adage expresses this notion: One man’s meat is another man’s poison. The following funny variant has been attributed to the famous wit Oscar Wilde: One man’s poetry is another man’s poison. …
James Matthew Barrie? Oscar Wilde? Benjamin Disraeli? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Young people often reject the teachings of their elders. They believe that their understanding is superior. An older individual constructed the following ironic barb: I am not young enough to know everything. This statement has often been attributed to the famous Irish wit Oscar …
Oscar Wilde? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Oscar Wilde once constructed an epigram about human knowledge and the three stages of life. I recall Wilde’s remarks about two of the stages. The arrogant young know everything, and the credulous old believe anything. Would you please help me to find this epigram? Quote Investigator: Alfred Douglas asked …
Oscar Wilde? Francis Douglas? 11th Marquess of Queensberry? Percy Colson? Mark Twain? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The Book of Genesis describes the creation of the world and the formation of Adam and Eve. The actions of this couple in the Garden of Eden quickly revealed behavioral defects. A sardonic commentator has suggested that God overestimated …
Continue reading “God In Creating Man, Somewhat Overestimated His Ability”
Oscar Wilde? G. K. Chesterson? Richard G. Moulton? Coulson Kernahan? William Thomas Stead? Richard Le Gallienne? C. Ranger Gull? Leonard Cresswell Ingleby? Guy Thorne? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The contemplation of a seemingly self-contradictory statement can help to illuminate a larger truth. This notion may be expressed with figurative language: Paradox is merely truth standing …
Continue reading “Paradox Is Truth Standing On Its Head To Attract Attention”