List of misquotations Quotes and Quotation
This page consists of things that many people think are correct quotes but are actually incorrect. This does not have quotes that were actually blunders by the people that said them.
- "Beam me up, Scotty"
- Notes: From the Star Trek science-fiction TV series. Several variants of this do occur in the series, such as "Beam me aboard," or "Two to beam up", but "Beam me up, Scotty" was never said during the run of the original Star Trek series. The quote "Beam me up, Scotty" was actually uttered in the Star Trek animated series that aired in 1973-74.
- Notes: From the Star Trek science-fiction TV series. Several variants of this do occur in the series, such as "Beam me aboard," or "Two to beam up", but "Beam me up, Scotty" was never said during the run of the original Star Trek series. The quote "Beam me up, Scotty" was actually uttered in the Star Trek animated series that aired in 1973-74.
- "Religion is the opiate of the masses." - Karl Marx
- Correct 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 than the misquote would suggest.
- Correct 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 than the misquote would suggest.
- "Blood, Sweat and Tears"
- Correct quote: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." - Winston Churchill
- Correct quote: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." - Winston Churchill
- "Damn it, Jim! I'm a doctor not a..."
- McCoy had many of these, except that he never said "damn it". Only one swear word was ever uttered on the original Star Trek and it was by Kirk: "Let's get the hell outta here."
- McCoy had many of these, except that he never said "damn it". Only one swear word was ever uttered on the original Star Trek and it was by Kirk: "Let's get the hell outta here."
- "Elementary, my dear Watson"
- Correct quote: "Elementary", on one occasion; "my dear Watson" on another. Never together - Sherlock Holmes
- Notes: According to the Sherlock Holmes series of books, the expression was uttered in some derivative works such as Sherlock Holmes films and television programmes.
- "Et tu, Brute?" or "Et tu, Brutus?"
- Translation: You too, Brutus?
- Note: The second one was incorrect Latin grammar, as it didn't correctly use the vocative case.
- "Et tu, Brute?" This is an accurate quotation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. He renders as Latin in an English play what was originally quoted as Greek spoken by a Roman.
- Correct quote: "Kai su, teknon?" (quoted by Suetonius)
- Translation (from Greek, the language of Rome's elite at the time): "You too, my child?"
- Note: It is very unlikely that Caesar actually said these words.
- "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your ears." - William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)
- Notes: normally attributed to Julius Caesar, but actually said by Antony.
- Notes: normally attributed to Julius Caesar, but actually said by Antony.
- "Hubble bubble, toil and trouble."
- Correct quote: "Double double, toil and trouble." - William Shakespeare (Macbeth)
- Correct quote: "Double double, toil and trouble." - William Shakespeare (Macbeth)
- "Me Tarzan, you Jane."
- Occurs in none of the Tarzan films nor in the book by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Occurs in none of the Tarzan films nor in the book by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- "Methinks the lady doth protest too much"
- Correct quote: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" - William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
- Correct quote: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" - William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
- "Money is the root of all evil."
- Correct quote: "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (I Timothy 6:10)
- Correct quote: "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (I Timothy 6:10)
- "Now is the winter of our discontent."
- In context: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York." - William Shakespeare (Richard III)
- Notes: This is a misquotation because, despite the same word-order, the grammar of the quotation is different from the grammar of the original. In the quotation, is is the main verb, with the force of exists or occurs: "The winter of our discontent is happening now." In the original, is is a helper verb, rendering the sentence a passive (and subjectless) form of "(Something) now makes the winter of our discontent glorious"
- "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
- Alternative: "We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us."
- Notes: allegedly said by George Orwell although there is no evidence that Orwell ever wrote or uttered either of these versions of this idea. They do bear some similarity to comments made in an essay that Orwell wrote on Rudyard Kipling, when quoting from one of his poems.
- "Yes, making mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep" - Rudyard Kipling (Tommy)
- "Yes, making mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep" - Rudyard Kipling (Tommy)
- "Play it again, Sam"
- Correct quote: "You played it for her, you can play it for me. ... If she can stand it, I can! Play it!" - Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca)
- Another correct quote: "Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake. ... Play 'As Time Goes By'." - Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca)
- Note: Woody Allen made a homage to Casablanca under the title Play It Again, Sam.
- Note: Woody Allen made a homage to Casablanca under the title Play It Again, Sam.
- "Someone set us up the bomb"
- Correct quote: "Somebody set up us the bomb"
- Notes: From a Japanese video game, Zero Wing, with a very unprofessional and amusing English translation
- "The rest is science"
- Correct quote: "The rest is silence" - William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
- Correct quote: "The rest is silence" - William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
- "To gild the lily"
- Correct quote: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily" - William Shakespeare (The Life and Death of King John, Act IV, Scene II, line 13)
- Correct quote: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily" - William Shakespeare (The Life and Death of King John, Act IV, Scene II, line 13)
- "Why don't you come up and see me sometime?"
- Correct quote: "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" - Mae West
- Correct quote: "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" - Mae West
- "Luke, I am your father."
- Correct quote: "No. I am your father." - Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode V
- Notes: Said in response to Luke Skywalker's accusation toward his father's death: "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"
- "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him well."
- Correct quote: "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio - a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." - William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act V, Scene I)
- Correct quote: "Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio - a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." - William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act V, Scene I)
- "You dirty rat!"
- Never said by James Cagney in any film.
- Never said by James Cagney in any film.
- "Pride goes before a fall"
- Correct quote: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" - Bible (King James Version), Proverbs 16:18
- Correct quote: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" - Bible (King James Version), Proverbs 16:18
- "The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash."
- Winston Churchill's assistant, Anthony Montague-Browne said that although Churchill had not said this, he wished he had.
- Winston Churchill's assistant, Anthony Montague-Browne said that although Churchill had not said this, he wished he had.
- "A language is a dialect with a Navy."
- This was not said by Otto von Bismarck, but rather by the linguist Max Weinreich or his student Joshua Fishman, who actually said "A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an armey un a flot" (in English: "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.")
- This was not said by Otto von Bismarck, but rather by the linguist Max Weinreich or his student Joshua Fishman, who actually said "A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an armey un a flot" (in English: "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.")
- "Suits you, sir!"
- Correct quote: "Suit you, sir!" Oh! Oh! (from the TV series "the fast show")
- Correct quote: "Suit you, sir!" Oh! Oh! (from the TV series "the fast show")
- "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis maintain their neutrality", or a variation on that.
- This was stated by John F. Kennedy and attributed by him to [1]. However, in the those who "non furon ribelli né fur fedeli" — neither rebelled against nor were faithful to God — are located directly inside the gate of Hell, and were not punished by fire; the lowest part of Hell, a lake of ice, was for traitors.
- This was stated by John F. Kennedy and attributed by him to [1]. However, in the those who "non furon ribelli né fur fedeli" — neither rebelled against nor were faithful to God — are located directly inside the gate of Hell, and were not punished by fire; the lowest part of Hell, a lake of ice, was for traitors.
People to whom many quotations are erroneously attributed:
References:
- Ralph Keyes: "Nice guys finish seventh - False phrases, spurious sayings and familiar misquotations", HarperCollins 1992. (see at Amazon)
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