According to the notes on this 1950 telegram.
This is an exchange between Ernest Hemingway and two friends in 1950.
The backstory on this:
- Russel Crouse, a journalist, playwright, and friend of Ernest, sent this telegram to their mutual friend, Leonard Lyons, a columnist.
- Leonard is talking about the journalist Heywood Broun, a notoriously horrible dresser. Following Broun's death, Hemingway apparently (jokingly, one would imagine) tried to claim the title of "worst-dressed man."
- The recipient of the telegram, Leonard Lyons, presumably sent the document to Hemingway, who hand-wrote the following:
"I challenge you Crouse you louse or I will defend yours without mercy Your old colleague but implacable enemy on this terrain, Ernie"
Judging from this photo, it seems safe to say that Hemingway's claim to the "worst-dressed man" title should have never been disputed in the first place.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
