Robert Charles Benchley:
(September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945).
American humorist, newspaper columnist and actor. From his beginnings at The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and his acclaimed short films, Benchley’s style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from his peers at the Algonquin Round Table in New York City to contemporaries in the burgeoning film industry.
There are two ways of keeping cool in hot weather. One is to wear no clothes at all, and the other is to wear a lot of clothes. Neither works.
This is ‘not really an idiom’ in the usual sense; it is a ‘humorous quote/aphorism’. 🥵
– In hot weather, people often propose contradictory solutions:
– wear as little clothing as possible, or
– wear loose, covering clothing to protect against the sun.
– The joke is that ‘both pieces of advice sound reasonable’, but in practice ‘neither really solves the problem’.
– In a broader sense, it means:
Sometimes two totally opposite solutions are proposed, but both are useless.’
It is typical dry humor: the final sentence, “Neither works”, undermines the practical advice.
✍️ Author: The sentence is ‘usually attributed to Robert Benchley’.
– Robert Charles Benchley
– American humorist, critic, actor, and writer
– 1889–1945
– Associated with “The New Yorker” and the “Algonquin Round Table”. His humor often used a quasi-serious style to discuss everyday annoyances, such as travel, the weather, work, etiquette, and daily life.
📚 Origin:
The quote comes from Benchley’s comedic texts about hot weather/staying cool. It is usually cited as a quote by Robert Benchley, often from an essay or column titled “Staying Cool” or included in collections of his humorous essays.
However, in many quote collections, the exact publication date is not always mentioned, so the safest phrasing is:
> Attributed to Robert Benchley, American humor from the early 20th century. 😄
