“Some people approach every problem with an open mouth.”

— Adlai Stevenson

As quoted in The Wordsworth Dictionary of Quotations (1998) by Connie Robertson.
Similar statements by others:
Mr. Hogg observed facetiously that interpreters were rather like politicians: they are people who approach every problem with an open mouth.
Quintin Hogg, as quoted in Annual Review of United Nations Affairs (1949) by Clyde Eagleton, p. 136.
Modern diplomats approach every problem with an open mouth.
Arthur J. Goldberg, as quoted in Affronts, Insults and Indignities (1975) by Morris Mandel

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Adlai Stevenson 131

mid-20th-century Governor of Illinois and Ambassador to the… 1900–1965

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“In approaching a problem a Marxist should see the whole as well as the parts. A frog in a well says, “The sky is no bigger than the mouth of the well.” That is untrue, for the sky is not just the size of the mouth of the well. If it said, “A part of the sky is the size of the mouth of a well”, that would be true, for it tallies with the facts.”

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“Tis better people think you a fool, then open your mouth and erase all doubt.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

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Misattributed
Variant: It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

“Successful people are realistic about their problems and find positive ways to approach them.”

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“An open mind is really a mark of foolishness, like an open mouth. Mouths and minds were made to shut; they were made to open only in order to shut.”

G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English mystery novelist and Christian apologist

Original quote:
For my friend said that he opened his intellect as the sun opens the fans of a palm tree, opening for opening's sake, opening infinitely for ever. But I said that I opened my intellect as I opened my mouth, in order to shut it again on something solid. I was doing it at the moment. And as I truly pointed out, it would look uncommonly silly if I went on opening my mouth infinitely, for ever and ever.
The Extraordinary Cabman, one of many essays collected in Tremendous Trifles (1909)
Misattributed

“Where is the weapon with which I enforce your bondage? You give it to me every time you open your mouth.”

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“Whenever anybody that I trusted brought along some new chemical, I would open my mouth and off I'd go.”

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“Some people approach every problem with an open mouth.”

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Adlai Stevenson 131

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