Context

This quote is from a BBC radio broadcast delivered by Winston Churchill on October 1, 1939, about a month after the outbreak of World War II.

It's like medical research. First, wine is good for you, then it isn't, then it is again. Same with chocolate, coffee, and aspirin.

Not to suggest that Russia was like an aspirin, but it was a pill (those Bolsheviks!) and Churchill found that hard to swallow. In 1937, he even suggested that if he had to choose between communism and Nazism, he'd pick Nazism.

A month after Churchill calls Russia a "riddle wrapped in a mystery," Russia invades Finland. "You think we're a mystery? Well, sink your teeth into that overt obviousness!" says Russia. Six months later, they pick on the Baltic States. We can just hear Churchill after that: "You're on the wrong side of history and you're goin' down!"

Except, not exactly.

Germany and Russia were war buddies, so imagine everyone's surprise when Germany invaded Russia in 1941. This must have been the political version of calling your bluff, because Churchill ended up picking communism over Nazism after all when he came to Russia's defense, in spite of how perturbed he was about the whole Red Army/communism thing.

Seems like that enigmatic finger pointed both ways.

Where you've heard it

You might say this anytime you're dealing with something complex and confusing. Some folks say it about tech gadgets. And one day in the future, maybe you'll be saying it about your brain implant when it shuts the door while you're thinking "open."

Additional Notable References:

• It appears in Roger Ebert's review of Cloud Atlas.
• The line is even in an episode of Seinfeld, when Elaine tries to explain Newman.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

You're looking at this lump swimming in green sauce on your plate. Is it a mushroom or a mollusk? Do you eat it with a fork or a spoon? You sigh, "It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a pastry." The guy to your right leans over and says, "Don't be so pretentious. It's a potato."