It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word.
Andrew Jackson Carolinian
Source
Sometimes reported as having been a retort to statements of his political rival, John Quincy Adams, who had boycotted Harvard University's awarding of a Doctorate of Laws degree to Jackson in 1833, declaring "I would not be present to witness her [Harvard's] disgrace in conferring her highest literary honors on a barbarian who could not write a sentence of grammar and could hardly spell his own name." Quoted in News Reporting and Writing 4th edition (1987) by M. Mencher. Unsourced variant: Never trust a man who has only one way to spell a word. — Likely misattributed
- year
- 1833
attributed
Cite this record
“It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least …” Andrew Jackson. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-E79ED3927E. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/e79ed3927e
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