On November 24, 1992, Elizabeth II gave a speech in London to mark the 40th anniversary of her Accession as Queen of England and “the Commonwealth realms.” The speech immediately…
Author: Robert Deis
“Your eyes are full of hate, Forty-one.” … In Ben-Hur, that's good.
Screenwriter, playwright and novelist Gore Vidal is linked to two famous quotations about whipping. One is a funny quip about the old form of corporal punishment called “birching” (whipping someone…
“Business as usual”
It’s not uncommon to see credible sources claim that the phrase “business as usual” was coined by Winston Churchill. For example, a glossary of World War I words and phrases…
“Not fade away…”
On October 27, 1957, American Rockabilly and rock music pioneer Buddy Holly and his band the Crickets released their second 45 rpm single, as a follow-up to their first smash hit “Peggy Sue.” This…
The day Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” made the earth move…HemingwayThe day Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” made the earth move…
On October 21, 1940, Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was first published by Charles Scribner’s Sons. It’s a classic war story about an American, Robert Jordan, who…
“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.”
It’s difficult to pigeonhole Teddy Roosevelt. He was a Republican for most of his political career, including his two terms as President of the United States from 1901 to 1909.…
“Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but…”
The Izaak Walton League is one of America’s oldest conservation groups. It was founded in 1922 by sport fishermen who wanted to preserve fish and wildlife habitat for future generations.…
“The physician can bury his mistakes…”
Many books of quotations include a famous humorous quote by the eminent American architect Frank Lloyd Wright: “The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only…
“The forgotten middle class…”
On October 3, 1991, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, held a press conference in Little Rock to announce that he was officially running as a candidate to be the Democratic nominee…
“Have Gun – Will Travel” lives on (as a linguistic “snowclone” and via modern digital media)
Today, the linguistic formula “Have X [some work tool] – Will Y [do something]” is firmly cemented into our language. Prior to 1957, it wasn’t. Then, on September 14, 1957,…