“No news is good news; no journalists is even better”
"No news is good news" is a proverb that dates to about the 1500s. "No news is good news; no journalists is even better" was in the book The Treasury of Humorous Quotations…
Archive for 12/2012
“There are no accidents in politics”
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (1888-1969) took a low profile in the 1960 presidential election; only after his son, John F. Kennedy, won the election did both father and son appear in photographs…
“The real menace to our republic is the invisible government”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), in a speech in August 1912, sought "to destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics."…
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens you can bet it was planned that way.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) is often credited for saying, "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens you can bet it was planned that way." However, there is no…
“What’s the difference between a minarchist and an anarchist? Six months”
A popular libertarian joke is: "What's the difference between a minarchist and an anarchist? Six months" Minarchists believe in a minimum amount of government, such as the security…
“I can hold a note as long as the Chase Manhattan Bank” (singer Ethel Merman)
The actress Ethel Merman (1908-1984) in the musical play Girl Crazy (1930) sang the song "I Got Rhythm" (music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin) and became an instant star.…
“An actor without a playwright is like a hole without a doughnut”
American drama critic and author George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) wrote in Encyclopædia of the Theatre (1940): "An actor without a playwright is like a hole without a doughnut." In other…
“I can hold a note as long as the Chase Manhattan Bank” (singer Ethel Merman)
The actress Ethel Merman (1908-1984) in the musical play Girl Crazy (1930) sang the song "I Got Rhythm" (music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin) and became an instant star.…
“The way taxes are today, you might as well marry for love”
"The way taxes are today, you might as well marry for love" has been credited (since the 1990s) to comedian Joe E. Lewis (1902-1971), but there's no evidence that Lewis even said it.…
“I don’t have a bank account because I can’t remember my mother’s maiden name”
Bank accounts sometimes require the account holder's mother's maiden name for security purposes. The comedienne Paula Poundstone said in the HBO comedy special Women of the Night (1988):…
“Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement”
U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) addressed the annual Gridiron Club dinner (usually a humorous occasion) in Washington, DC, both in 1986 and in 1988, saying: "Before I refuse to take…
Donkey Sauce
Guy Fieri, a restaurateur and Food Network personality, opened Guy's American Kitchen & Bar (220 West 44th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues) in New York City in the fall of 2012.…
“Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often”
"Actions speak louder than words" is a proverb that has been cited in print since about the 1600s. "Actions speak louder than words, but they do not speak as often" was cited in…
Generation XL
"Generation X" is a term that was popularized in 1991 to describe people born between the early 1960s and the early 1980s. "Generation XL" ("XL" meaning "extra…
Sushi Sickness
"Sushi sickness" was the Urban Dictionary's Urban Word of the Day for December 2, 2012, but the term has been little-used. "Sushi sickness" means an illness someone has…
Seagull Manager (Seagull Management)
Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager (1982) and other books, said in 1984: "A British friend of mine calls it the seagull-type of management. The big guy flies in, dumps on…
“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship”
Colgate Hoyt (1849-1922), an American businessman, said in 1901: "Business founded on friendship is friendship endangered, but friendship founded on business is friendship assured." John…
“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost”
The following three lines were printed in 1882 and credited as "Motto on the walls of a school in Germany"" When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;When health is lost, something is…
“If there’s anything a public servant hates to do it’s something for the public”
"If there's anything a public servant hates to do it's something for the public" is a popular cynical remark about the self-interest of "public servants." "If…
“Old people shouldn’t eat health foods; they need all the preservatives they can get”
Comedy writer Robert Orben wrote in 1978: "My rather elderly neighbor is complaining: 'I'm at that age when I'll have nothing to do with natural foods. I need all the…