# Quotes wrongly attributed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972 "2025-10-14T20:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/21 "2025-10-15T16:34:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Churchill never said “_“Don’t talk to me about Naval Tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash,”“_ but he did say he wished he did. > > Mark Twain, apparently never said _“Golf is a good walk spoiled”_, but the originator of that quote is disputed. Churchill did say this about the grand game: _“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose”_ I do get stabby in these threads however when it is (a) a fictional character, and (b) the commonly attributed quote in question is a paraphrase of things they **did** say, and not something made up entirely out of whole cloth. The Bogart, Scotty, and Sherlock ones are good examples of that, with the latter one being from the Basil Rathbone adaptations. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/22 "2025-10-15T16:48:21Z")
Socrates never said > The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/23 "2025-10-15T17:18:15Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I do get stabby in these threads however when it is (a) a fictional character, and (b) the commonly attributed quote in question is a paraphrase of things they **did** say, and not something made up entirely out of whole cloth. The Bogart, Scotty, and Sherlock ones are good examples of that, with the latter one being from the Basil Rathbone adaptations. Yeah. Somebody upthread said Darth Vader didn’t say “Luke, I am your father.” He actually said “No, I am your father.” Meh, same difference. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/24 "2025-10-15T18:43:26Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > “Luke, I am your father.” I wonder how many hardcore fans think he said that. It _sounds_ right. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/25 "2025-10-15T19:28:19Z")
Mrs Beeton’s recipe for Rabbit Stew: “First, catch your rabbit…” Actually, Hannah Glasse said “Take your Hare when it is cas’d and make a Pudding” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/26 "2025-10-15T20:03:32Z")
Sarah Palin never said “I can see Russia from my house” – that was Tina Fey impersonating Palin on SNL, yet some people seem to misremember and think Palin actually said it. Palin try to claim that the fact that Alaska is close to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, though. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/27 "2025-10-15T20:47:03Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I do get stabby in these threads however when it is (a) a fictional character, and (b) the commonly attributed quote in question is a paraphrase of things they **did** say, and not something made up entirely out of whole cloth. The Bogart, Scotty, and Sherlock ones are good examples of that, with the latter one being from the Basil Rathbone adaptations. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/28 "2025-10-15T21:25:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Churchill never said “_“Don’t talk to me about Naval Tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash,”“_ but he did say he wished he did. I believe a lot of quote have been misattributed to Churchill. He also didn’t say, in response to a criticism that he ended a sentence on a preposition: > **[Quote Origin This Is the Sort of Nonsense Up With Which I Will Not Put –...](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/07/04/churchill-preposition/)** He also probably did not say in response to a woman who accused him of being drunk “madame, you are ugly. Tomorrow I will be sober’ but you will still be ugly”. > **['My dear you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/my-dear-you-are-ugly-but-tomorrow-i-shall-be-sober-and-you-will-still-be-ugly-winston-churchill-tops-poll-of-history-s-funniest-insults-8878622.html)** > > Winston Churchill's ability to lift the spirits of the British people in times of adversity were neatly balanced with a sparkling line in withering put-downs ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/29 "2025-10-15T21:37:08Z")
> [@solost](#): > > He also probably did not say in response to a woman who accused him of being drunk “madame, you are ugly. Tomorrow I will be sober’ but you will still be ugly”. [WC Fields said something similar in a movie in 1934](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuG6Tvx3MRI); don’t know if that was the originator. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/30 "2025-10-15T21:47:01Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Sarah Palin never said “I can see Russia from my house” – that was Tina Fey impersonating Palin on SNL, yet some people seem to misremember and think Palin actually said it. Here’s the actual quote: [They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.](https://www.newsweek.com/palin-revives-see-russia-alaska-comment-1696388) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/31 "2025-10-15T22:07:15Z")
> [@solost](#): > > He also probably did not say in response to a woman who accused him of being drunk “madame, you are ugly. Tomorrow I will be sober’ but you will still be ugly”. Ordinary Welles paraphrased this when, on the Tonight Show, Robert Blake made a crack about his weight: “It’s true, I’m fat. But I can always diet. You, on the other hand, are ugly”. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/32 "2025-10-15T22:18:32Z")
There is a quote, much beloved of administrators, about how “Excellence is a habit”, etc. that is a full paragraph. Though usually attributed to Aristotle, it was actually written by Will Durant, a historian. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/33 "2025-10-15T22:24:08Z")
Jean-Pierre Melville used onscreen quotes to start two of his films: one from the Book of Bushido in _Le Samouräi_, and one from the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama in _Le Cercle Rouge_. Both were actually written by Melville. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/34 "2025-10-15T22:28:11Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Einstein never said the “definition of insanity” quote either. Obviously! He never had a USB cord! Wilde never said, _“Your Majesty is like a stream of Bat Piss”_ ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/35 "2025-10-15T22:41:29Z")
It’s well known that Aristotle quoted Durant without attribution quite liberally. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/36 "2025-10-15T22:47:18Z")
Richard III never said “my kingdom for a horse”. The Queen from Snow White didn’t say “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/37 "2025-10-15T22:51:25Z")
Aristotle also invented the Ouija board, and does not get enough credit for his psychic acumen. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/38 "2025-10-15T22:55:39Z")
Yeah, but ass kisser that he was, he called it the “Board of Pythia”. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/39 "2025-10-15T22:58:58Z")
Burke didn’t say “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Marie Antoinette didn’t say “Let them eat cake”. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972/40 "2025-10-15T23:00:28Z")
Vince Lombardi didn’t say “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quotes-wrongly-attributed/1023972.md?page=3)