Ernest Hemingway? Arnold Samuelson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The life of a famous writer is exhaustively scrutinized by academics who attempt to delineate the young scribe’s growth and maturation. Yet, the typical writer does not wish to be placed under a microscope. Apparently, a prominent author once said: It’s none of their business that …
Tag Archives: Ernest Hemingway
Quote Origin: You Are All a Lost Generation
Gertrude Stein? Ernest Hemingway? Hotel Keeper? Automobile Repair Shop Owner? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Would you please explore the provenance of the following expression? Here are two versions: You are all a lost generation. You are all a génération perdue. The phrase “lost generation” has been applied to young people who experienced the repercussions …
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Quote Origin: The Sea Is the Sea. The Old Man Is an Old Man
Ernest Hemingway? Bernard Berenson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Ernest Hemingway’s classic novella “The Old Man and the Sea” has been exhaustively analyzed by critics and commentators. Beleaguered high school students have been coerced into composing essays about the tale. Unsurprisingly, the story has been transformed into a cornucopia for symbol generation. Yet, Hemingway himself …
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Quote Origin: Always Do Sober What You Said You’d Do Drunk. That Will Teach You To Keep Your Mouth Shut
Ernest Hemingway? Charles Scribner IV? Malcolm Forbes? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway once described a strategy to reduce drunken boasting. The inebriated person should wait until soberness returns and then perform the foolish boastful actions. Thus, one will quickly learn to keep one’s mouth shut. Is this genuine advice …
Quote Origin: The Rain Will Stop; The Night Will End; The Hurt Will Fade. Hope Is Never So Lost That It Can’t Be Found
Ernest Hemingway? Mandy Hale? The Single Woman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: I recently encountered a quotation using evocative language about the rain stopping and the night ending. The quotation emphasized that one should feel hopeful. Oddly, the famous author Ernest Hemingway received credit for the remark, but I do not think it sounds anything …
Quote Origin: It Is Good To Have an End To Journey Towards; But It Is the Journey That Matters, in the End
Ernest Hemingway? Ursula K. Le Guin? Lynn H. Hough? Question for Quote Investigator: It is natural to assign meaning or purpose to the terminus of a long journey, but the value truly lies within the journey itself. This notion has been expressed as follows: It is good to have an end to journey toward; but …
Quote Origin: A Baby Learns To Speak in Two Years, But It Takes a Lifetime To Learn To Keep Quiet
Ernest Hemingway? Mark Twain? Luke McLuke? Lydia DeVilbiss? Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? Frederick B. Wilcox? Abigail Van Buren? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: While searching the twitter database I encountered the following two similar jokes: (1) Humans need two years to learn to speak and sixty years to learn to shut …
Quote Origin: I Work From About Seven Until About Noon. Then I Go Fishing or Swimming, or Whatever I Want
Ernest Hemingway? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Did Ernest Hemingway drink heavily while he was writing? How many hours did he spend working each day? Can you find an interview containing quotations that illuminate his drinking and writing habits? Reply from Quote Investigator: Shortly before Hemingway died in 1961, he participated in an interview conducted …
Dialogue Origin: “How Did You Go Bankrupt?” “Two Ways. Gradually and Then Suddenly.”
Creator: Ernest Hemingway, U.S. author, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature Context: The character Mike Campbell in the 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” was asked about his money troubles and responded with a vivid description embracing self-contradiction: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” “What brought …
Quote Origin: Do Not Wait To Strike Till the Iron Is Hot; But Make It Hot By Striking
William Butler Yeats? William B. Sprague? Benjamin Franklin? Richard Sharp? Charles Lamb? Charles Caleb Colton? Oliver Cromwell? Peleg Sprague? Ernest Hemingway? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular proverb highlights the limited duration of an opportunity: Strike while the iron is hot. This metaphor has been astutely extended with advice for greater challenges: Make the …