List of famous misquotations

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A famous misquotation is a well-known phrase attributed to someone who, in fact, did not say it.

It may not be known how these phrases came about, but when possible their type of origin is noted in this way:

  • [P] Parody or satire of the original.
  • [C] A corruption or mistranslation of the original phrase, possibly accidental, which became better known than the original.
  • [M] A deliberate misquoting or made-up quote intended to discredit the alleged speaker.
  • [A] Attributed to a well-known person to improve the appearance of the phrase or the person.

Contents

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Famous misquotations of actual persons

  • "A few acres of snow"---Voltaire, referring to Canada [C]
    • Actual quote refers to Acadia, not then part of Canada.
  • "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."("Je désapprouve ce que vous dites, mais je défendrais à la mort votre droit à le dire")---Voltaire [A]
    • This line comes from the book Friends of Voltaire (1907) by Beatrice Hall. It resembles the actual quote "Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too," from Voltaire's Essay on Tolerance.
  • "Let them eat cake!" ("S’ils n’ont plus du pain, qu’ils mangent de la brioche.")---Marie Antoinette [M]
    • The original quote comes from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions: "Finally, I recalled the way out of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread and who replied: ‘Let them eat brioche’. I bought brioche." ("Je me rappelai le pis-aller d’une grande princesse à qui l’on disait que les paysans n’avaient pas de pain, et qui répondit: Qu’ils mangent de la brioche. J’achetai de la brioche."). He could not have been speaking of Marie-Antoinette, as she was 10 when he wrote this, and not yet born at the time of the incident. It has been speculated that he was actually referring to Maria Theresa of Spain or various other aristocrats. (Ask Yahoo, The Straight Dope)
  • "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree."---George Washington [A]
  • "Judy, Judy, Judy!"---Cary Grant [P]
  • "Houston, we have a problem." [C]
    • This is a misstatement of the actual communication between the Apollo 13 astronauts and Mission Control in Houston immediately after the explosion that aborted the intended mission. The actual quote was "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here," uttered by Jack Swigert, soon followed by "Houston, we've had a problem" by Jim Lovell.
  • "Football isn't a matter of life or death, it's much more important than that"---Bill Shankly [C]
    • The real quote was said by Liverpool F.C. manager Bill Shankly in 1981 on a Granada Television talk show called 'Live from Two' hosted by Shelley Rohde, and it was "Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'."
  • "I invented the Internet."---Al Gore [M]
  • "Anything that can go wrong, will" (and variations on this theme) – Edward A. Murphy, Jr. [C]
    • Actual quote uncertain. Variously, "If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will" and "If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way."
      • Murphy's law has been misinterpreted to mean "nothing will ever work". Its intended meaning, however, probably was more like "try to prepare for every possible way for something not to work".
  • "The only two certainties in life are death and taxes"---Mark Twain [C]
  • "Religion is the opiate of the masses."---Karl Marx [C]
    • Actual quote: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." Marx's intended meaning is subtler and less condemning than the misquote would suggest.
  • "The only good Indian is a dead Indian."---Philip Sheridan [M]
    • Actual quote is said to be "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead," though Sheridan denied ever saying it.
  • "Money is the root of all evil."---1 Timothy 6:10, the Bible [C]
  • "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" - Lord Acton [C]
    • Actual quote: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
  • "Gild the lily" -- William Shakespeare, King John [C]
    • Actual quote: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily"
  • "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." -- Joseph Stalin [M]
    • This quote has popularly been attributed to Stalin but, at this stage, there is no clear evidence as to whether it is genuine or not.
  • "Et tu, Brute?" -- Julius Caesar
    • Shakespeare in his play makes Caesar say these words ("Even you, Brutus?") in Latin; a similar quote is mentioned by Suetonius, but in Greek ("καὶ σὺ τέκνον?" meaning "Even you, my son?") rather than Latin.
  • "You forgot Poland." -- George W. Bush [C]
    • Actual quote: "Well, actually, he forgot Poland." (about John Kerry)
  • "We are going to build the Tories out of London" - Herbert Morrison [M]
    • Though widely attributed, no evidence has been found that Morrison said any such thing. The Local Government Chronicle offered a reward for anyone who could source the quote.
  • "We are the masters now" - Hartley Shawcross
    • Actual quote: "We are the masters at the moment". This followed a quotation from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice observed that the question of definitions of words depended upon who was master. It should be noted that in England a "master" is a term equivalent to "teacher" in the U.S.
  • "Crisis? What Crisis?" - attributed to British Prime Minister James Callaghan
    • "Crisis? What Crisis?" - was the headline in The Sun on January 11, 1979. Callaghan had been asked what his policy was in view of the 'mounting chaos' and replied "I promise you that if you look at it from outside, and perhaps you're taking rather a parochial view at the moment, I don't think that other people in the world would share the view that there is mounting chaos."
  • "The ends justify the means." - Nicolo Machiavelli
  • "Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains." - Winston Churchill [A]
    • Neither this nor any of its common variations were ever said by Churchill. [2]
  • "Billions and billions." - Carl Sagan
    • Carl Sagan insisted for years he never said it, as it was far too vague of an expression. The quote actually comes from Johnny Carson's impersonation of Carl Sagan. Chapter one of the book Billions & Billions is titled, "I Never Said It."
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Famous misquotations of fictional persons

  • "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well."---Hamlet, by William Shakespeare [C]
    • Actual quote: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."
  • "Just the facts, Ma'am."---Jack Webb as Sgt. Friday on Dragnet [C]
    • Actual quote: "All we want are the facts, ma'am." The famous quote comes from 1953 recording by satirist Stan Freberg - a recording called "St. George and the Dragonet", which was a Dragnet spoof.
  • "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."---John Wayne in Hondo [P]
    • Actual quote: "A man ought'a do what he thinks is best."
  • "Beam me up, Scotty."---William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek [C]
    • Actual quote used in Star Trek IV: "Scotty, beam me up.", although the misquote had been in circulation for years before that.
  • "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a..." Dr. Leonard McCoy on Star Trek [P]
    • On the tv series, the expletive dammit was never uttered by McCoy.
  • "Play it again, Sam."---Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca [C]
    • Actual quote: Ingrid Bergman's character Ilsa Lund said "Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By" first; later, Rick says "You played it for her, you can play it for me!"
  • "Oooh, you dirty rat!"---James Cagney [C]
    • Actual quote: "Mmm, that dirty, double-crossin' rat," in 1931's Blonde Crazy.
  • "Elementary, my dear Watson."---Sherlock Holmes [C]
    • The complete phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson" does not appear in any of the 60 Holmes stories written by Doyle. It does appear at the very end of the 1929 film, The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
  • "Luke, I am your father."---Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back [C]
    • Actual quote: "No, I am your father."
  • "Badges? We don't need no steenking badges!"---from the film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre [C]
    • Actual quote: "Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!" (The quote above does however appear in Blazing Saddles.)
  • "We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto" or "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto"--- Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) from the film The Wizard of Oz [C]
    • Actual quote: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"
  • "Do you feel lucky, punk?"---Dirty Harry. [C]
    • Actual quote: "...you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"
  • "Throw another shrimp on the barbie" - Paul Hogan in a series of Australian Tourist Commission commercials on American TV. [C]
    • Actual quote: "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you."
  • "Hello, Clarice."---Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs [C]
    • Actual quote: "Good evening, Clarice."
  • "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?"---Mae West as Lady Lou in the film She Done Him Wrong. [C]
    • Actual quote: "Why don't you come up some time, and see me?"
  • "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille." - Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard [C]
    • Actual quote: "All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up."
  • "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"---Romeo and Juliet
    • Actual quote: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other word would smell as sweet."
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See also

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External links

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