Edward Hulse? Leewin B. Williams? Viola Brothers Shore? Arthur Godfrey? Walter Winchell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The feeling of humility is paradoxical. The instant you become self-aware and proud of your humility, it disappears. This thought has been stated as follows: Humility is a strange thing. The moment you think you’ve got it, you’ve …
Tag Archives: Walter Winchell
Review Origin: “I Am a Camera” “No Leica”
Walter Kerr? Jean Kerr? Caroline A. Lejeune? Dorothy Parker? Walter Winchell? Goodman Ace? Clare Boothe Luce? Alexander Woollcott? Kenneth Tynan? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous one-line theater review employed a horrible pun. Many people have been credited with this pun, but I have never seen any solid evidence. The target of the review was …
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Repartee Origin: You Are the Second Most Beautiful Woman in the United Kingdom
Lilian Braithwaite? James Agate? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent drama critic in London once told a top actress that she was the second most beautiful woman in the United Kingdom. The critic expected her to ask for the identity of the most beautiful woman, but she wittily replied that she would …
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Quote Origin: Don’t Cut Off Flower Heads and Stick Them in Pots
George Bernard Shaw? Blanche Patch? Archibald Henderson? Bennett Cerf? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A visitor to the home of a famous wit expected to find vases filled with beautiful cut flowers, but there were none. The wit explained the absence by making a comically grotesque comparison between cut flowers and decapitated people. …
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Repartee Origin: “Lady X Will Be At Home Thursday Between 4 and 6” “Mr. Bernard Shaw Likewise”
George Bernard Shaw? Walter Winchell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A person who was enamored with celebrities wanted George Bernard Shaw to attend a social gathering. Several attempts at interesting Shaw failed. So a formal invitation was sent. Shaw appended a short reply and sent the note back: “Lord X will be at home on …
Quote Origin: During Christmas People Will Forget the Past With a Present
Gladys Parker? Don Marquis? Walter Winchell? Uncle Ezra? Phyllis Diller? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A collection of Christmas season quips employ wordplay based on “past” and “present”. Here are two examples: What I like about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with a present. At Christmas time youngsters want the …
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Quote Origin: It Isn’t Enough To Write So You Will Be Understood. You Have To Write So You Can’t Be Misunderstood
Quintilian? William Cobbett? John Cooke? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? W. E. Smith? Walter Winchell? Rollin D. Salisbury? William H. Taft? Question for Quote Investigator: A maxim about the goal of communication expresses an ideal that is desirable but nearly impossible to achieve. Here are three versions: (1) You must not only speak so that people can …
Quote Origin: Like a Little Bridegroom On a Wedding Cake
Alice Roosevelt Longworth? Marie Corelli? Jane Burr? Rose Guggenheim Winslow? Nancy Hale? Ruth Hanna McCormick? Walter Winchell? Ethel Barrymore? Grace Hodgson Flandrau? Question for Quote Investigator: A U.S. politician running for president was once described as a “little man on a wedding cake” and a “bridegroom on the wedding cake”. This ridicule harmed his campaign, …
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Quote Origin: Always Forgive Your Enemies; Nothing Annoys Them So Much
Oscar Wilde? Felix Grendon? Percy Colson? Walter Winchell? Reader’s Digest? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
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Quote Origin: A Notable Family Named Stein With Gertrude, Ep, and Ein
A. H. Reginald Buller? Resident of Brighton? E. V. Lucas? Carolyn Wells? Walter Winchell? Robert Conquest? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a comical limerick about a “family” named Stein. The three referents were prominent writer Gertrude Stein, influential sculpture Jacob Epstein, and famous scientist Albert Einstein. Wordplay was used to split “Stein” from …
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