Tracing Quotations
Groucho Marx? Spike Milligan? Lydia Augusta Arsens? Tramp Starr? Dr. Parr? John Conolly? John Stuart Blackie? Tom Chalmers? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The word “cracked” has several slang meanings. The traditional slang meaning is crazy, foolish, or eccentric. Here are three versions of a comical saying which uses wordplay: (1) You’ve got to be …
Continue reading “Quip Origin: Blessed Are the Cracked for They Shall Let in the Light”
Douglas Adams? Spike Milligan? Terry Pratchett? Charlie Bates? Harry Harrison? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Prominent humorists have been credited with statements from the following family of jokes about collisions. Here are three examples: (1) Falling doesn’t hurt you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.(2) It isn’t the speed that kills people; it’s the …
Continue reading “Quip Origin: It’s Not the Fall That Hurts You; It’s the Sudden Stop at the End”
Spike Milligan? Michael Parkinson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular comedian once asserted that his father had a major influence on him. Normally, this type of claim is followed by effusive praise of the father. But the comedian employed a gleeful paraprosdokian by saying that his father was a lunatic. Would you please help …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: My Father Had a Profound Influence On Me—He Was a Lunatic!”
Spike Milligan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Education is enormously important, but it is not a cure-all for the ailments of society. An absurdist quip highlights this limitation: Education isn’t everything; for a start it isn’t an elephant. The Irish-English comedian Spike Milligan has received credit for this line, but I haven’t been able to …
Spike Milligan? John MacGregor? William Gordon Stables? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The nausea of seasickness feels endless. An absurdist quip suggests that the only genuine remedy is a return to solid ground: The best cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree. The Irish-English comedian Spike Milligan has received credit for this line, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Sure Cure for Seasickness Is To Sit Under a Tree”