Misquotes

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Here are a selection of famous misquotes. These are quotes that are either commonly attributed to the wrong person, or in fact were never actually said by the individual to whom they are accredited! If you know of another common misquote, send it to us!

Common Misquotations

"All my possessions for a moment of time" - Queen Elizabeth I

So popularly quoted that we have this quote listed in our list of quotes for QE1, but strictly speaking there is no contemporary source to confirm these last words, and hence they are probably apocryphal.

"Beam me up, Scotty" - Gene Roddenberry

Captain Kirk never actually used these words on the Starship Enterprise, the closest in fact being the occasional "Beam us up, Mr Scott".

"Dreams are the royal road to consciousness" - Sigmund Freud

Infact this is a summary of the full quote - "The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind."

"Elementary, my dear Watson" - Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

This quote is not actually found in any of his books, but rather found in a film review in the New York Times, 19 October 1929.

"It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph." - Edmund Burke

As with the Queen Elizabeth quote, so widely attributed that we list it in our selection of Burke quotes. However, it has never been traced in his writings.

"Play it again, Sam" - Julius J. Epstein, Casablanca

Probably the most famous mis-quote from a film, this statement is never actually made in the film. The closest is Bogart saying "If she can stand it, I can. Play it!", and Bergman saying "Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By".

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime" - Mae West

Never actually said. Probably alteration of her line in the film She Done Him Wrong "Why don't you come up sometime, and see me?"

"Let them eat cake". - Marie Antoinette

In fact, she actually said "Let them eat bread".

"And not a lot of people know that". - Michael Caine

Has been widely attributed to Michael Caine in the film 'Alphie'. BUT the actual quote was 'not many people know this...', and I have a theory that the misquote emanated from Mike Yarwood the 70's "impressionist", who I believe got it wrong during a skit in one of his shows. [Rik]

The line "You dirty rat" so often attributed to actor, James Cagney, (and used extensively by his impersonators), was never actually uttered by him an any movie.

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