[Ads-l] Quote Origin: Blessed Are the Cracked for They Shall Let in the Light

[Stephen Goranson]

I guess the Dr. Parr was Dr. Samuel Parr (1747-1825).

Stephen Goranson

On Thu, Sep 24, 2026 at 7:48 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> The traditional slang meaning of "cracked" is crazy, foolish, or
> eccentric. Here are three versions of a comical saying which uses
> wordplay:
>
> (1) You've got to be cracked to let the light in.
> (2) Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light.
> (3) They were certainly cracked: but the crack let in light.
>
> This quip has been attributed to Irish comedian Spike Milligan,
> Canadian politician Lydia Augusta Arsens, U.S comedian Groucho Marx,
> pseudonymous humorist Tramp Starr, Scottish classical scholar John
> Stuart Blackie, and others. An email about this saying inspired my
> exploration.
>
> The earliest match I found appeared in an 1830 book titled "An Inquiry
> Concerning the Indications of Insanity" by John Conolly, Professor of
> Medicine at the University of London:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Every county presents one or more specimens of individuals who are
> reputed scientific by those more ignorant of science than themselves;
> eccentric men, whose wandering attention has travelled over every
> subject … in the opinion of their neighbours, they become accounted
> "wonderfully clever men, but certainly a little mad." The learned and
> benevolent Dr. Parr used to say of such men, that they were certainly
> cracked: but that the crack let in light;--and even then, it is to be
> feared, he estimated them too highly.
> [End excerpt]
>
> I do not know the first name of Dr. Parr who is currently the leading
> candidate for coiner of this quip.
>
> Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article.
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/09/24/cracked-light/
>
> Feedback welcome
> Garson O'Toole
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org