A famous non-quotation is a well-known phrase attributed to someone who, in fact, did not say it.
It may not be known how these phrases came about, but when possible their type of origin is noted in this way:
- [P] Parody or satire of the original.
- [C] A corruption (probably accidental) of the original phrase which became better known than the original.
- [M] A deliberate misquoting or made-up quote intended to discredit the alleged speaker.
- [A] Attributed to a well-known person to improve the appearance of the phrase or the person.
- "Let them eat cake!" – Marie Antoinette [M]
- "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree." – George Washington [A]
- "Judy, Judy, Judy!" – Cary Grant [P]
- "Just the facts, Ma'am." – Jack Webb as Sgt. Friday on Dragnet [C]
- "Beam me up, Scotty." – William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek [C]
- "Play it again, Sam." – Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca [C]
- "Oooh, you dirty rat!" – James Cagney [C]
- "I am not a crook!" – Richard Nixon [C]
- "Come up and see me some time." – Mae West [C]
- "Elementary, my dear Watson." – Sherlock Holmes [C]
- "I invented the Internet." – Al Gore [M]
- "Anything that can go wrong, will" (and variations on this theme) – Edward A. Murphy, Jr [C]
- "Religion is the opiate of the people" – Karl Marx [C]
- "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." – The actual quote was "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead." [C] – Philip Sheridan
See also:
- http://www.snopes.com/quotes/twain.htm - Famous non-quotations by Mark Twain.
- http://quote.wikipedia.org/ - Wikimedia Quote Emporium