The Yale Book of Quotations list of the most notable quotations of 2008 has been covered on this blog and by the Associated Press and many other media picking up the AP story. Professor Jeffrey Frankel, a distinguished economist at Harvard, has pointed out that it was he, not Paul Krugman, who originated the wonderful line about atheists in foxholes and libertarians in financial crises, which tied for the tenth slot on my list. Frankel’s wording was “They say ‘there are no atheists in foxholes.’  Perhaps, then, there are also no libertarians in crises.” He published it in an article in Cato Journal, Spring/Summer 2007.

Yesterday Paul Krugman acknowledged in his “The Conscience of a Liberal” blog that he got the quotation from Frankel. He also says that the “cash for trash” quotation was not original with him, although he does not recall where he picked that one up.

I apologize to Professor Frankel for not giving him proper credit.

Fred R. Shapiro