# What is the source for the recently popular Mark Twain quote. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562 "2011-05-03T12:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/21 "2011-05-06T05:03:02Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I think he’s in a race with Dorothy Parker. And Winston Churchill. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/22 "2020-10-24T00:38:29Z")
Here’s the updated article reference, since the upstream post somehow managed to route it through Yahoo (?!) > **[Mark Twain Didn’t Say That Thing About Obituaries](https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/05/mark-twain-didnt-say-thing-about-obituaries/350238/)** > > And Martin Luther King never said the quote that’s being attributed to him, either I personally love this quote, and it looks like it’s Clarence Darrow for sure [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/05/05/darrow-obituary/](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/05/05/darrow-obituary/) > **[Clarence Darrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Darrow)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Clarence Seward Darrow (/ˈdæroʊ/; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union and a prominent advocate for Georgist economic reform. > Called a "sophisticated country lawyer", Darrow's wit and eloquence made him one of the most prominent attorn... ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/23 "2020-10-24T02:15:00Z")
Mark Twain allegedly said of Cecil Rhodes, one of the architects of apartheid - “I admire him, I frankly confess it; and when his time comes I shall buy a piece of the rope for a keepsake” ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/24 "2020-10-24T15:42:50Z")
“I really didn’t say everything I said.” - Yogi Berra I would lose my shit if it turns out that that, too, was misattributed. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/25 "2020-10-24T19:02:32Z")
This isn’t going to be much help, but one of my favorite books is Twain’s “Roughing It”; I’ve read it 3-4 times since the 70’s, and recently listened to it on Audiobook. I’m pretty sure that the quote in question, or something similar to it, appears in that book. DISCLAIMER: I’m the first to admit that my memory has devolved into a short piece of string. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/26 "2020-10-28T13:55:08Z")
The text for _Roughing It_ is online at [Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3177/3177-h/3177-h.htm). I did a search for the word “obituary” and didn’t find it (a search for"obit" turned up two instances of “probity”, but no “obituary”). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/27 "2020-10-28T16:07:48Z")
QuoteInvestigator is a great site. I’d take its conclusions as a given. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/28 "2020-10-28T16:33:12Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > The text for _Roughing It_ is online at [Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3177/3177-h/3177-h.htm). I did a search for the word “obituary” and didn’t find it (a search for"obit" turned up two instances of “probity”, but no “obituary”). Cool. I’ll go there myself and try “funeral.” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/29 "2020-10-28T16:43:29Z")
Thanks for the tip! Found the line I was remembering and it’s only similar in spirit. _“I gave no sign; but I made up my mind that if the auctioneer’s brother’s funeral took place while I was in the Territory I would postpone all other recreations and attend it.”_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562.md?page=1)