"A gentleman never gives offense unintentionally"

[Laurence Horn]

On Oct 10, 2012, at 11:07 AM, Jim Parish wrote:

> I've seen this quote attributed to Oscar Wilde, but he's a known
> quote-magnet. Is the correct originator known?
>
> Jim Parish
>
It also shows up on the web variously as "..who never offense anyone unintentionally", "…who never insults anyone unintentionally", "…who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally", etc., which is a bit suspicious.  It's usually attributed to Oscar Wilde, but John Wayne in his autobiography credits his father (Wayne's, not Wilde's).

LH

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