tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81398683691703921722024-03-15T20:02:34.018-04:00Quote/CounterquoteOrigins, uses and abuses of famous quotations and phrasesRobert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comBlogger289125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-79542166165509096122022-10-29T14:19:00.000-04:002022-10-29T14:20:19.731-04:00“I never promised you a rose garden.”                  THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMOUS LINE: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”         Hannah Green (pen name of Joanne Greenberg; 1927–1996)        American authorRobert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-78090102805114968182022-04-10T12:24:00.001-04:002022-04-11T17:06:03.511-04:00“The shot heard round the world.” THE ORIGINAL THING HEARD ROUND THE WORLD: “The shot heard round the world.”        Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)        American poet, essayist and lecturer        This famous line is from Emerson’s poem commonly called the “Concord Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-16665316603661850662022-03-20T11:14:00.000-04:002022-03-20T11:15:03.960-04:00“A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” THE FAMOUS UNCF SLOGAN: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”         Advertising tagline used by the United Negro College Fund since 1972         The slogan was coined in 1971 by Forest Long, an executive with the Young & Rubicam ad agency. The Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-23752662208533025842022-02-24T11:20:00.000-05:002022-02-24T11:49:39.013-05:00Why laws, iPads, writing and porn are like sausages…           THE FAMOUS SAUSAGE SIMILE: “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.”        Traditionally attributed to Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)        German statesmanRobert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-70908051543268281672022-01-07T11:37:00.001-05:002022-01-07T11:42:34.774-05:00“We don’t need no stinking badges!” (Or badgers!) THE ORIGINAL 1948 MOVIE LINES: “Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”         Alfonso Bedoya, as the Mexican bandit “Gold Hat”        In the classic film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which was releasedRobert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-57495673728127903272021-10-19T13:55:00.000-04:002021-10-19T13:56:30.798-04:00Charity, love and a prenup cover a multitude of sins... THE FAMOUS BIBLICAL QUOTE: “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”          Saint Peter (c. 1 BC-c. 67 AD)        Galilean-born Apostle of Jesus Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-73841893245156899392021-08-29T10:34:00.000-04:002021-08-29T10:51:56.532-04:00“The power of Christ compels you!” … and the power of BTS ...         FAMOUS SATAN-BUSTING MOVIE QUOTE: “The power of Christ compels you!”        The words from the Catholic “Rite of Exorcism” repeated multiple times by the characters Father Merrin and Father Damien (played by Max von Sydow and Jason Miller) in the movie The Exorcist (Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-74234685766134942982021-08-12T15:49:00.000-04:002021-08-12T15:51:43.491-04:00The fine lines between stupid, clever – and various other things... SPINAL TAP’S “SMELL THE GLOVE” PRINCIPLE: “It’s such a fine line between stupid…and clever.”        The legendary saying from the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap (1984)         This “quote” actually combines parts of consecutive lines spoken by two Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-82313301946286995692021-08-04T14:02:00.000-04:002021-08-04T14:22:37.337-04:00“The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.” THE FAMOUS SPORTS QUOTATION: “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”        Dan Cook (1926-2008)        San Antonio sports journalist and broadcaster        Cook is widely credited as the person who popularized this Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-11669948579138868922021-07-09T15:43:00.000-04:002021-07-09T23:13:46.590-04:00Who finishes first: nice guys or Heather Locklear? FAMOUS SPORTS CATCHPHRASE: “Nice guys finish last.”        Leo Durocher (1906-1991)        Baseball player and manager                     Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-47938236628982519922021-06-13T11:22:00.000-04:002021-06-13T11:23:04.292-04:00“Inside every fat man there is a thin man trying to get out.” CYRIL’S PRECURSOR TO THE FAMOUS SAYING: “Imprisoned in every fat man a thin one is wildly signalling to be let out.”        Cyril Connolly (1903-1974)        English writer, editor and critic         An oft-cited line from Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-30554533154045215312021-05-26T10:35:00.000-04:002021-05-26T10:36:07.197-04:00“Children of the night. What music they make!” THE CLASSIC BOOK AND MOVIE QUOTES: “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” [1924 novel] “Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make!” [1931 movie]        Dracula         One of his most famous lines in the novel by Bram Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-77197080002350886972021-05-04T10:47:00.000-04:002021-05-04T10:47:52.375-04:00That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. (Or not.) NIETZSCHE’S FAMOUS MAXIM: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” (“Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker.”)        Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)        German philosopher        His famous Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-5577134167843284542021-04-23T10:52:00.000-04:002021-04-23T10:53:14.438-04:00“We have met the enemy and he is us.” THE FAMOUS EARTH DAY SLOGAN: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”        Walt Kelly (1913-1973)        American cartoonist best known for his Pogo comic strip        Kelly used this memorable line on a poster designed Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-32660571870705903992021-04-12T10:58:00.000-04:002021-04-12T11:19:53.342-04:00“None so blind as those that will not see.” THE BIBLE-RELATED QUOTE THAT’S NOT IN THE BIBLE: “None so blind as those that will not see.”        Matthew Henry (1662-1714)        English Presbyterian minister and writer        A saying popularized by Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-74954050652383894512020-09-14T15:22:00.000-04:002022-09-15T10:24:36.673-04:00What “life is like” – from Forrest Gump and Leonard Nimoy to Tom Lehrer and Jawaharlal Nehru… THE FAMOUS MOVIE QUOTE: “My mama always said, life was like a box a chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”        Forrest Gump (actor Tom Hanks)        In the 1994 film Forrest Gump  &#Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-23668019974255506242020-07-12T12:09:00.000-04:002022-07-12T14:51:49.265-04:00“The rich are different”… The real story behind the famed “exchange” between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. If you’re a quotation buff, you’ve probably heard of a legendary exchange about “rich people” that supposedly took place between the American novelists F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) and Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). Fitzgerald is usually quoted as saying either “The rich are different from you and me” or “The rich are different from us.” Hemingway is quoted as responding: “Yes, they Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-76842624258596108022020-07-08T12:57:00.000-04:002020-07-08T13:15:08.884-04:00“I dream things that never were and say, why not?” THE ORIGINAL LINES FROM A LITTLE KNOWN PLAY: “You see things; and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’” George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Familiar lines from Part I of Shaw’sRobert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-1699819692885414962020-05-30T10:19:00.000-04:002020-05-30T11:36:07.924-04:00“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” from Bert Lance and basketball to Burger King and Dilbert – and beyond… THE PROVERBIAL AXIOM: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Bert Lance (1931-2013) American banker and political advisor to President Jimmy Carter This was already a proverbial Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-55231878480977354052020-02-12T13:14:00.000-05:002020-02-12T16:47:16.530-05:00God’s mysterious ways...
THE USUALLY MISQUOTED ORIGIN:
“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.” William Cowper (1731-1800) British poet and hymn writer From his Hymn No. 35, “Light Shining Out Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-54657016956982478982020-01-24T10:30:00.000-05:002020-01-24T10:31:28.374-05:00“THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS” – Woody Guthrie’s enduring words… WOODY’S FAMED ANTI-FASCIST SLOGAN: “THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS” Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) American folk musician and social activist The legendary words he put on guitars he played &Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-73576831978920216822020-01-12T11:01:00.000-05:002020-01-12T11:02:02.406-05:00“Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.” THE ORIGINAL INSPIRATION FOR THE SIXTIES SLOGAN: “Sometime they’ll give a war and nobody will come.” Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) American poet and writer A line Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-26371407324363718542019-10-01T12:15:00.000-04:002019-10-01T12:30:13.057-04:00“Whatever is worth doing...”
LORD CHESTERFIELD’S MAXIM:
“Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.” Lord Chesterfield (Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield; 1694-1773) British statesman and diplomat One of the many bits of fatherly advice Chesterfield imparted in Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-19549203018630812052019-09-17T11:30:00.000-04:002019-09-17T12:55:30.446-04:00War as politics, politics as war – and various other things “continued by other means”... THE MISTRANSLATED MAXIM: “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) Prussian general and military theorist On War (1832-1834), Bk. VIII, Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8139868369170392172.post-80621259007019298372019-09-07T12:35:00.000-04:002019-09-07T15:44:33.960-04:00Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable…
THE LINE THAT LED TO A FAMOUS MISQUOTE:
“Th’ newspaper does ivrything f’r us...comforts th’ afflicted, afflicts th’ comfortable.” Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) American journalist and humorist Dunne put this quote in the mouth of “Mr. Dooley,” Robert Deis (aka "SubtropicBob")http://www.blogger.com/profile/02915050878004964273noreply@blogger.com