The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

He was a hereditary peer, conservative politician, and owner of very historic estates, and he got entangled in this scandal, the Profumo Affair, when his association with Mandy Rice-Davies, who was one of the girls that Stephen Ward, the osteopath, was introducing into elite circles, when all this came out.

And probably the most memorable thing about all of this is when Mandy Rice-Davies was testifying in Ward's trial and Lord Astor had denied any association with her, she came out with this unforgettable line, "Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?" And that line and that dismissive response has actually become, like, a part of British pop culture, so much so that it entered the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations as the ultimate retort.

The ultimate retort?

The ultimate retort.

Pepper to see how many supposedly credible sources have reprinted this quote, including a UK government blog and history.com.

This quote was even included in the scholarly 1999 fifth edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

But no publication, including the Oxford Dictionary, cites an original article or source for Tynan's alleged quote.

Randomly, the Oxford Dictionary cites the 1986 book McCartney Songwriter by Howard Elson.

And then there is the one everybody quotes as an old Russian saying, there was never a saint with red hair.

It can be traced back exactly as far as H. L. Mencken's Dictionary of Quotations in 1942, not one inch further, and nobody has ever found a Russian who said it.

I mention this because I would like to be considered a candidate if the Pope doesn't mind that I'm not Catholic.

Although, if the cartoon is right that we have no souls, that would explain the shortage of red-headed saints, huh? I might be wasting my time campaigning.