C. E. M. Joad

1891–1953 · English philosopher & BBC broadcaster

Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad (1891–1953) was an English philosopher and popular author who became a household name as a panelist on the BBC wartime radio programme The Brains Trust, famous for the catchphrase “It all depends what you mean by…” His 1926 book The Babbitt Warren, a critique of American culture, contained the observation about “skill in concealing origins” that is the earliest documented ancestor of this quotation.

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“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources”

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