Famous Quotes We've Been Crediting To The Wrong People
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” “Beam me up, Scotty!” These quotes are so famous, and everyone knows who said them: Muhammad Ali, Shakespeare, Captain Kirk. Right? Wrong! Would you believe those people didn’t actually come up with those words? So many well-known quotes have become attached to the wrong person over the years. If, like us, you feel lied to, then read on for more misattributed quotes where those came from!
“I cannot tell a lie.” — Not George Washington
In an enduring legend, America’s first President George Washington accidentally caused damage to his dad’s prize cherry tree. When the old man angrily demanded to know what happened, the six-year-old Washington supposedly admitted, “I cannot tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.”
It turned out, though, that this story had been fabricated by biographer Mason Locke Weems in the fifth edition of The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington. He wanted a way to illustrate how honest and moral Washington had been, even as a boy!
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Not Muhammad Ali
Is there a more famous boast in sports than Muhammad Ali’s “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee?” If there is, we haven’t heard it! Amazingly, though, Ali didn’t come up with his signature catchphrase. It was actually whispered in his ear by his cornerman Drew Bundini Brown, the son of a Florida alligator-hunter.
Brown reportedly couldn’t read, but his brain was razor-sharp when it came to smack talk: he was incredible at supplying Ali with iconic lines to spout before, during, and after his bouts.
“’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” — Not William Shakespeare
“’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” — Not William Shakespeare
These days, most people associate this iconic quote with “The Bard” himself, William Shakespeare. But it’s actually from an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem entitled In Memoriam A.H.H. Tennyson’s meaning was also slightly different from how it’s commonly interpreted today.
We think it’s about opening your heart to romantic love, which is an inherent risk, rather than choosing to deny love in the first place in case you get hurt. But Tennyson actually composed the poem about his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who unexpectedly died and left the poet heartbroken.
“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” — Not Vince Lombardi
In the ’60s, Green Bay Packers’ head coach Vince Lombardi became famous for his rallying cry of, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Lombardi didn’t come up with it, though: he lifted it from UCLA Bruins coach Henry “Red” Sanders, who’d said it back in the ’30s.
By the time his career wrapped up, Lombardi also wished he’d never said it, as his intended meaning had got lost somewhere along the way. He lamented, “I meant the effort. I meant having a goal. I sure didn't mean for people to crush human values and morality.”