Quote Investigator
@quoteinvestigator.com
Authoritative quotation information. Book: Hemingway Didn't Say That. Website receives 4.5 million visitors/year.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/about/
https://quoteinvestigator.com/about/
Here is a link:
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/10/08/f...
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/10/08/f...
January 14, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Here is a link:
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/10/08/f...
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/10/08/f...
How old is this saying which calls for silence in a comical way?
A fish wouldn’t get caught if it kept its mouth shut
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/14/f...
A fish wouldn’t get caught if it kept its mouth shut
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/14/f...
January 14, 2026 at 8:10 PM
How old is this saying which calls for silence in a comical way?
A fish wouldn’t get caught if it kept its mouth shut
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/14/f...
A fish wouldn’t get caught if it kept its mouth shut
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/14/f...
Did George Washington really say the following?
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/12/a...
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/12/a...
January 12, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Did George Washington really say the following?
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/12/a...
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/12/a...
A bookseller who visited the London headquarters of poet T. S. Eliot's publisher, Faber and Faber, supposedly emerged with the following palindrome:
Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
Who really constructed this palindrome?
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/05/e...
Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
Who really constructed this palindrome?
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/05/e...
January 5, 2026 at 3:38 PM
A bookseller who visited the London headquarters of poet T. S. Eliot's publisher, Faber and Faber, supposedly emerged with the following palindrome:
Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
Who really constructed this palindrome?
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/05/e...
Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
Who really constructed this palindrome?
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/05/e...
Anecdote Origin:
"I cannot loan my donkey to you. It is not here"
"But I just heard the donkey bray"
"You fool! Do you believe me or the donkey?"
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/03/b...
"I cannot loan my donkey to you. It is not here"
"But I just heard the donkey bray"
"You fool! Do you believe me or the donkey?"
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/03/b...
January 3, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Anecdote Origin:
"I cannot loan my donkey to you. It is not here"
"But I just heard the donkey bray"
"You fool! Do you believe me or the donkey?"
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/03/b...
"I cannot loan my donkey to you. It is not here"
"But I just heard the donkey bray"
"You fool! Do you believe me or the donkey?"
quoteinvestigator.com/2026/01/03/b...
Happy holidays! Which famous intellectual wrote the following?
One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/23/s...
One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/23/s...
December 25, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Happy holidays! Which famous intellectual wrote the following?
One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/23/s...
One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/23/s...
Did the Cheshire Cat of famous English fantasy author Lewis Carroll write the following?
I'm Not Crazy. My Reality Is Just Different Than Yours
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/16/my-reality/
I'm Not Crazy. My Reality Is Just Different Than Yours
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/16/my-reality/
December 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Did the Cheshire Cat of famous English fantasy author Lewis Carroll write the following?
I'm Not Crazy. My Reality Is Just Different Than Yours
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/16/my-reality/
I'm Not Crazy. My Reality Is Just Different Than Yours
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/12/16/my-reality/
There were really three sides to the question: my side, your side, and the right side
Who said this in 1894: Arthur Brisbane? Wray Hunt? Dorothy Maddox?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/30/r...
Who said this in 1894: Arthur Brisbane? Wray Hunt? Dorothy Maddox?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/30/r...
November 30, 2025 at 5:23 AM
There were really three sides to the question: my side, your side, and the right side
Who said this in 1894: Arthur Brisbane? Wray Hunt? Dorothy Maddox?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/30/r...
Who said this in 1894: Arthur Brisbane? Wray Hunt? Dorothy Maddox?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/30/r...
Inside every old person There is a young person trying to get out
What statement did this saying evolve from?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/26/i...
What statement did this saying evolve from?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/26/i...
November 26, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Inside every old person There is a young person trying to get out
What statement did this saying evolve from?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/26/i...
What statement did this saying evolve from?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/26/i...
Here is a link to the article I wrote:
Proverb Origin: A Bayonet Is a Weapon with a Worker at Each End
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
Proverb Origin: A Bayonet Is a Weapon with a Worker at Each End
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
November 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Here is a link to the article I wrote:
Proverb Origin: A Bayonet Is a Weapon with a Worker at Each End
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
Proverb Origin: A Bayonet Is a Weapon with a Worker at Each End
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned
A popular biographer wrote this. Who said it, and what does it mean?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/23/m...
A popular biographer wrote this. Who said it, and what does it mean?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/23/m...
November 25, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned
A popular biographer wrote this. Who said it, and what does it mean?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/23/m...
A popular biographer wrote this. Who said it, and what does it mean?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/23/m...
A famous proverb encourages bold investors when markets are distressed:
Buy when there is blood in the streets
Was this said during the Paris Commune of 1871 or the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? Was this quotation apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/17/b...
Buy when there is blood in the streets
Was this said during the Paris Commune of 1871 or the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? Was this quotation apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/17/b...
November 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM
A famous proverb encourages bold investors when markets are distressed:
Buy when there is blood in the streets
Was this said during the Paris Commune of 1871 or the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? Was this quotation apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/17/b...
Buy when there is blood in the streets
Was this said during the Paris Commune of 1871 or the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? Was this quotation apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/17/b...
Can a duck swim? (Will a duck swim? Does a duck swim?)
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true. How old is this rhetorical response?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/14/d...
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true. How old is this rhetorical response?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/14/d...
November 14, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Can a duck swim? (Will a duck swim? Does a duck swim?)
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true. How old is this rhetorical response?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/14/d...
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true. How old is this rhetorical response?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/14/d...
Does a chicken have lips?
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true and obviously false. What is the history of this confusing phrase? Here is a link to an investigation:
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/12/c...
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true and obviously false. What is the history of this confusing phrase? Here is a link to an investigation:
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/12/c...
November 12, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Does a chicken have lips?
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true and obviously false. What is the history of this confusing phrase? Here is a link to an investigation:
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/12/c...
This rhetorical phrase is used to respond to questions that are obviously true and obviously false. What is the history of this confusing phrase? Here is a link to an investigation:
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/12/c...
Your request from Nov 7 inspired the creation of a Quote Investigator article. Thanks!
A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@billy-atherton.bsky.social
A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@billy-atherton.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Your request from Nov 7 inspired the creation of a Quote Investigator article. Thanks!
A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@billy-atherton.bsky.social
A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@billy-atherton.bsky.social
A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end
Who created this pacifist proverb: John Maclean? James Hudson? James Riley? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
Who created this pacifist proverb: John Maclean? James Hudson? James Riley? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
November 10, 2025 at 5:39 AM
A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end
Who created this pacifist proverb: John Maclean? James Hudson? James Riley? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
Who created this pacifist proverb: John Maclean? James Hudson? James Riley? H. L. Mencken? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/10/b...
April 3, 1939
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, England
Letter from L.H.
The job of the Labour Party is to unify the workers of this country, not to don the mantle of Don Quixote, for they must remember that a bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end …
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@ihetz.bsky.social
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, England
Letter from L.H.
The job of the Labour Party is to unify the workers of this country, not to don the mantle of Don Quixote, for they must remember that a bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end …
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@ihetz.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 3:02 AM
April 3, 1939
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, England
Letter from L.H.
The job of the Labour Party is to unify the workers of this country, not to don the mantle of Don Quixote, for they must remember that a bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end …
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@ihetz.bsky.social
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, England
Letter from L.H.
The job of the Labour Party is to unify the workers of this country, not to don the mantle of Don Quixote, for they must remember that a bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end …
@thurberteam.bsky.social
@ihetz.bsky.social
When the answer to a question is obviously affirmative the respondent can employ the following rhetorical phrase:
Is the Pope Catholic?
When did this phrase enter circulation?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/07/p...
Is the Pope Catholic?
When did this phrase enter circulation?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/07/p...
November 7, 2025 at 5:25 AM
When the answer to a question is obviously affirmative the respondent can employ the following rhetorical phrase:
Is the Pope Catholic?
When did this phrase enter circulation?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/07/p...
Is the Pope Catholic?
When did this phrase enter circulation?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/07/p...
Rotund director Alfred Hitchcock once argued with slim playwright George Bernard Shaw:
You look as if there is a famine in the land.
You look as if you are the cause of it.
Is this incident genuine or apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/04/f...
You look as if there is a famine in the land.
You look as if you are the cause of it.
Is this incident genuine or apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/04/f...
November 4, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Rotund director Alfred Hitchcock once argued with slim playwright George Bernard Shaw:
You look as if there is a famine in the land.
You look as if you are the cause of it.
Is this incident genuine or apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/04/f...
You look as if there is a famine in the land.
You look as if you are the cause of it.
Is this incident genuine or apocryphal?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/04/f...
(Part 1 of 2) Many musical instruments have been criticized using this template, e.g., ukulele, saxophone, bagpipes, accordion, and banjo
Quote Origin: My Idea of a Gentleman Is He Who Can Play a Cornet and Won’t
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/04/21/c...
Quote Origin: My Idea of a Gentleman Is He Who Can Play a Cornet and Won’t
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/04/21/c...
November 3, 2025 at 8:46 PM
(Part 1 of 2) Many musical instruments have been criticized using this template, e.g., ukulele, saxophone, bagpipes, accordion, and banjo
Quote Origin: My Idea of a Gentleman Is He Who Can Play a Cornet and Won’t
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/04/21/c...
Quote Origin: My Idea of a Gentleman Is He Who Can Play a Cornet and Won’t
quoteinvestigator.com/2019/04/21/c...
Inside every old person there is a young person wondering what happened
Who created this saying: Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett? Aphorist Ashleigh Brilliant? Gospel singer Cora Harvey Armstrong? Journalist Dan Sullivan? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/01/o...
Who created this saying: Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett? Aphorist Ashleigh Brilliant? Gospel singer Cora Harvey Armstrong? Journalist Dan Sullivan? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/01/o...
November 1, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Inside every old person there is a young person wondering what happened
Who created this saying: Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett? Aphorist Ashleigh Brilliant? Gospel singer Cora Harvey Armstrong? Journalist Dan Sullivan? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/01/o...
Who created this saying: Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett? Aphorist Ashleigh Brilliant? Gospel singer Cora Harvey Armstrong? Journalist Dan Sullivan? Anonymous?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/11/01/o...
You cannot awaken someone who is pretending to sleep
Did Mohandas Gandhi create this saying? Someone else?
Yoruba proverb? Navajo proverb?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/29/p...
Did Mohandas Gandhi create this saying? Someone else?
Yoruba proverb? Navajo proverb?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/29/p...
October 29, 2025 at 12:08 PM
You cannot awaken someone who is pretending to sleep
Did Mohandas Gandhi create this saying? Someone else?
Yoruba proverb? Navajo proverb?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/29/p...
Did Mohandas Gandhi create this saying? Someone else?
Yoruba proverb? Navajo proverb?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/29/p...
Which pioneering woman comedian authored the following joke about aging?
"Who Would Want To Be 90?"
"Anyone Who Is 89"
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/26/o...
"Who Would Want To Be 90?"
"Anyone Who Is 89"
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/26/o...
October 26, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Which pioneering woman comedian authored the following joke about aging?
"Who Would Want To Be 90?"
"Anyone Who Is 89"
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/26/o...
"Who Would Want To Be 90?"
"Anyone Who Is 89"
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/26/o...
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences
Did this saying originate in the 21st century?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/24/f...
Did this saying originate in the 21st century?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/24/f...
October 24, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences
Did this saying originate in the 21st century?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/24/f...
Did this saying originate in the 21st century?
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/24/f...
Your request from yesterday about a quip attributed to W. C. Fields inspired the creation of a Quote Investigator article. Thanks! @lizardky.bsky.social
Well, a man’s got to believe something, and I believe I’ll have another drink.
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/22/b...
Well, a man’s got to believe something, and I believe I’ll have another drink.
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/22/b...
October 22, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Your request from yesterday about a quip attributed to W. C. Fields inspired the creation of a Quote Investigator article. Thanks! @lizardky.bsky.social
Well, a man’s got to believe something, and I believe I’ll have another drink.
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/22/b...
Well, a man’s got to believe something, and I believe I’ll have another drink.
quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/22/b...