'Every generalization is wrong, including this one."
Every time I see Lord Ashtar’s sig line, attributing that quotation to George Carlin, I cringe a little. After all, I know it was first said by Gen. Joseph Stillwell in the late 1930’s. I know this because I used it in my high school SAT English Composition test, almost before George Carlin was born, and they gave me a pretty high score.
Uhhh, it turns out I was wrong.
I’ve been googling and otherwise searching for a while now and I can’t find any reliable attribution for it. Some attribute it Oliver Wendell Holmes, some to other individuals, many to ‘old proverb’ or ‘old cliche’ …and none to Joseph Stillwell.
So who said it first? And has a solid source giving the attribution?
Lord Ashtar, I apologize for bringing this up and please be assured that it is not in any way a criticism of your erudition, especially since I apparently was wrong about it. It’s just that it was niggling at me and I have to find out. 