Tag Archives: Sheilah Graham

Quote Origin: Every Writer Has a Lifetime Ration of Three Exclamation Points

William Maxwell? Annabel Davis-Goff? Elmore Leonard? Helen Dudar? Benjamin Dreyer? William Safire? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Sheilah Graham? Christopher Morley? Terry Hersom? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The stylistically appropriate use of exclamation points is a contentious topic. One writer proposed the following comically extreme self-contradictory rule: Kill all exclamation points!!! Style guides have presented the …

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Quote Origin: It’s Not Quite True I Had Nothing On: The Radio Was On

Marilyn Monroe? Sheilah Graham? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Beauty icon Marilyn Monroe’s film career was jeopardized in the 1950s when scandal-mongers reported on her past as a risqué calendar model. Interestingly, her popularity and fame actually grew. When she was questioned about the calendar she responded with a clever and hilarious remark about a …

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Quote Origin: Gentlemen, You May Include Me Out

Samuel Goldwyn? Herbert Fields? June Provines? Sheilah Graham? Alva Johnston? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn was famous for his creative and idiosyncratic use of the English language. Hollywood legend asserts that Goldwyn participated in a complex, protracted, and tense corporate negotiation in the 1930s. But he was unhappy with the final …

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Quote Origin: That Is Part of the Beauty of All Literature. You Discover that Your Longings Are Universal Longings

F. Scott Fitzgerald? Sheilah Graham? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Recently, on the blog of a teacher I saw a quotation about the humanities that was attributed to one of the best American writers of the previous century. It began: That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are …

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