The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and WhenSt. Martin's Publishing Group, 2007 M04 1 - 416 pages Our language is full of hundreds of quotations that are often cited but seldom confirmed. Ralph Keyes's The Quote Verifier considers not only classic misquotes such as "Nice guys finish last," and "Play it again, Sam," but more surprising ones such as "Ain't I a woman?" and "Golf is a good walk spoiled," as well as the origins of popular sayings such as "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings," "No one washes a rented car," and "Make my day." |
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... fact that rationale for climbing mountains is better credited to his predecessor, George Mallory. In a speech, I quoted Einstein as saying there was no hope for an idea that did not at first seem insane, something I later learned he ...
... South Africa's two-term president. Aside from the fact that these words don't even sound like him, they do not appear in either inaugural address given by Mandela. On the other hand, those sentences can be found in xiv INTRODUCTION.
... fact that no one knew when or where Durocher had said this (because he hadn't). Despite copious searching, the origins of the quotation most associated with Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed ...
... fact that words appear in print or pixels make them credible. A compilation of memorable quotations in Newsweek's turn-of-the-century issue included several misquotations. In one case after another, a search for the source of a popular ...
... fact, is “folklore.” Most likely Gage simply abridged an antislavery motto, “Am I not a Woman and a Sister?”, and translated it into dialect for her report on Truth. Over time “Ar'n't I a woman?” mutated into “Ain't I a woman?” Far from ...