Comments on: How To: Be Misquoted

By: JaneM

JaneM — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:35:25 +0000

And what about ‘Music soothes the savage beast” misquote. It is actaully “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,
To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak”

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:18:57 +0000

How about the head over heels. Which was originally heels over head.

You head is always over your heels, but writers thought it sounded better than heels over head.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:43:55 +0000

Preacher: “Without you, O Lord, we are but dust.”

Little girl:” Mommy! What is butt dust?”

By: Alice

Alice — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:57:03 +0000

“Lead on, McDuff!” is correctly quoted as “Lay on, McDuff” and has nothing to do with going first. It’s from Shakespeare’s “MacBeth” and fully quoted is “Lay on, McDuff, and damned be him who first cries ‘Hold, Enough!’”. Great way to issue a challenge!

By: Li

Li — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:15:50 +0000

Speaking of Shakespeare, it’s actually not a misquote, but “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” does not mean “where are you, Romeo,” but “WHY are you Romeo?”

By: Sara

Sara — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:54:14 +0000

Like Emma Goldman:

QUOTE: “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”

ACTUALLY SAID: “At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a young boy, took me aside. With a grave face, as if he were about to announce the death of a dear comrade, he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance. Certainly not with such reckless abandon, anyway. It was undignified for one who was on the way to become a force in the anarchist movement. My frivolity would only hurt the Cause.
I grew furious at the impudent interference of the boy. I told him to mind his own business. I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant that, I did not want it. “I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.” Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world — prisons, persecution, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal.”

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:36:53 +0000

“Luke, I am your father.”

With a bunch of geeks, I’m surprised this wasn’t posted earlier! :-P

By: Melanie

Melanie — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:18:33 +0000

I was just going to chime in on the spare the rod thing, but Ben got there first. so i’m just going to mention a different misquote.

Alas poor Yorick, I knew him….
most people think it’s “I knew him well”

but it’s actually “I knew him Horatio”

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 17:16:24 +0000

“Beam me up, Scotty”

By: n2y2

n2y2 — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 16:50:18 +0000

My favorite misquote is “Play it again, Sam”. Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) actually said, “Play it, Sam; Play ‘As Time Goes By’”. Later Rick (Humphrey Bogart) said, “If she can stand it, I can… Play it!”

Another is “Do you feel lucky?” Callahan (Clint Eastwood) actually goes on a long diatribe with his gun pointed at the perp, at the end he says, “The question you have to ask yourself is, ‘Do I feel lucky today?’ Well do you, punk?”