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27 Quotes Everyone Either Misunderstands or Gets Wrong

Who knew the real versions of these quotes?

27 Quotes Everyone Either Misunderstands or Gets Wrong

December 02, 2023

We love quotes, don't we? Little bite-sized nuggets of wisdom to snack on and give us that little hit of inspiration or insight, simplify a complicated emotion or serve as a common reference point. But why then do we seem to get the most important parts of some of the more famous quotes in history completely wrong? We have a tendency to change a critical part of the phrase, lose a bit in translation or lob off the ending with a chainsaw in order to reach a more convenient sentiment.

Below are some of our favorite examples of famous quotes and sayings that, time and time again, we’ve managed to attribute to the wrong person at best, or get entirely backwards at worst.

27

Winning is not the most important...

GRACKED.COM The quote WINNING IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, stops being so motivational when you know the ending: IT'S THE ONLY THING. — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

26

It always seem impossible...

It always seems impossible until it's done. - attributed to Nelson Mandela This old saying is meant as a reminder to ignore naysayers, but it used to mean almost the opposite - the ultra-skeptical attitude of not considering anything possible until you see it done. For example, in 1921, a scientist working on interplanetary rockets said, But although there exists the attitude that 'everything is impossible until it is done,' there is nevertheless widespread interest being taken in the work. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

25

A teacher affects eternity...

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops by Henry Adams is widely used as a slogan in classrooms and lecture halls. However, it was intended as a criticism on the dogmatic nature of education, branding teachers as worse than murderers, as shown in the oft-neglected preceeding sentence, A murderer takes life, but his deed stops there. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

24

The winter of our discontent...

The phrase Now is the winter of our discontent is from Shakespeare's play Richard III and is used to imply that the speaker is unhappy. The actual phrase is Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York. A reference to the House of York having turned the tide in the Wars of the Roses to their favor, it is a pun within a metaphor meaning Now the good times are here. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

23

When one door closes...

CRACKED.COM The expression When one door closes another door opens is incomplete. The part that's left out turns this inspirational saying into a criticism of pessimistic society: ...but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

22

Hire a Lazy Person

I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it. - attributed to Bill Gates The original quote, from a 1947 Senate hearing, doesn't say it's smarter to hire a lazy person than a hard worker. job beyond what he can do, because he can't do it all day. So if you have got a job that is tough-I have taught my foremen this for some months now-if you get a tough job, one that is hard, and you haven't got a way to make it easy, put a — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

21

Never more than you can handle

GOD WILL NEVER GiVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE. The text it misquotes is actually about temptation: if you're tempted beyond what you can bear, God will provide a way to resist. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

20

The Triumph of Evil

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - EDMUND BURKE His actual words: When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. So, Burke only pointed out that it's vital to work together against bad men- he said nothing more. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

19

Gandhi

Be the change you wish to see in the world. That's not the original quote by Gandhi. It was If we could change ourselves, the -tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do. While the original misquote might mean: to change the world start by changing yourself, he actually just meant no need to seek others' approval. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

18

Proof in the pudding

The phrase 'The proof is in the pudding is used to mean that the end result is the testament of your abilities. However, the original phrase 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating places more emphasis on testing your end result to see if it is good in the first place. Also, the idiom is referring to a different kind of pudding. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

17

Rome wasn't built in a day

Rome wasn't built in a day, HEY DON'T GET DISCOURAGED WHEN YOU DON'T SUCCEED RIGHT AWAY! ...but it burned in one. HEY! YOUR HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS ARE FLEETING AND CAN BE TAKEN AWAY AT ANY MOMENT! CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

16

My country right or wrong

The phrase My country right or wrong, is actually a trimmed down version of My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. The full quotation implies that every citizen has the obligation to set their country right instead of being blindly loyal. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

15

Thanks, Lincoln

...The world will little note nor long remember make elementary school students memorize what we say here but it can never forget... CRACKED COM — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

14

The Impossible

BOUGAINVILLE NAVY YARD THE DIFFICULT WE DO NOW; THE IMPOSSIBLE TAKES s LITTLE LONGER. JUST. CAN'T. BOUGRINVILLE B.S.I. JAN. 2 1944 BE. NAVY YARD DONE. GRACKED COM — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

13

The tree of liberty

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants... Of course, this is an off-hand, rhetorical comment in a letter four years after the Revolutionary War...I can't imagine anyone using it to justify acts of domestic terrorism against the federal government I basically invented. -Thomas Jefferson, 13 Nov. 1787 CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

12

Discretion is the better part of valor

The line from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Discretion is the better part of valor, implies the wisdom of being cautious and avoiding unnecessary risks; but it's a corruption of Falstaff's excuse when he's discovered to have faked his death to avoid fighting in battle, and quoted correctly, reads: The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part | have saved my life. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

11

Box of Chocolates

My mama always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. Forrest Gump People don't realize that this is a sweetened version of a more negative quote in the original novel: CRACKED.COM Let me say this: Bein' a idiot is no box of chocolates. People laugh, lose patience, treat you shabby. — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

10

The Most Beautiful Things

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched -they must be felt with the heart. For us, this quote implies that emotions are more important than material goods. Its original meaning is more direct: The deaf-blind author, lecturer, and activist Helen Keller (1880-1968) wrote it down from the words of her teacher Anne Sullivan to make a point that people who can't see and hear can still experience beauty and happiness like everybody else. CRACKED COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

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9

Blood & Water

GRACKED COM BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER. Is interpreted quite differently in an early Arab version of the proverb. BROTHERS IN THE COVENANT OF BLOOD ARE CLOSER THAN BROTHERS AT A COMMON BREAST... BLOOD IS THICKER THAN MILK. Meaning, that blood oaths to gods and blood shed in war are stronger bonds than simply being family. — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

8

Machiavelli

Machiavelli's famous quote: The ends justifies the means, is nowhere near what he actually wrote: When there is no impartial arbiter, one must consider the final result. GRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

7

Exodus 14:14

Many people find comfort in Exodus 14:14, in which Moses tells the Israelites: The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. But most forget the next verse, in which God directly contradicts Moses: And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

6

How do you whistle, really?

CRACKED.COM You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just press your tongue against your upper molars leaving a space between your tongue and the roof ofyour mouth. And next, you narrow this air channel by flattening your tongue and pulling it back slightly from your front teeth. Then, tightly pursing your lips, you blow air out, adjusting the space between your tongue and palette to reduce breathiness and increase volume. — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

5

Sorry, Luke

...I want to transmit my application to the Academy this year. You mean the next semester before harvest? You must understand I need you here, Luke. But it's a whole 'nother YEAR! Look, it's only one more season. Anyway, the whole concept of a YEAR is meaningless on Tatooine. This planet is in an unstable orbit around a lopsided binary star system. Anyone can see THAT! CRACKED.COM — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

4

Saying Sorry

CRACKED.COM LOVE MEANS NEVERHAVING LEARNING HOW TO SAY YOU'RE SORRY — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

3

Hacking Magic

No, the phones are fine, it's the network that's dead. !jjsu gotta reprogram it and link il into the old sat coms... - ~ Matt Farrell, Live Free or Die Hard We're going to have to seriously find some wifi Of an internet cafe somewhere... Cell phones and satellite phones work on two completely different types of network architecture, and all the hacking in the world won't cause them to grow hardware that wasn't originally installed. This should be something any hacker should instinctively know. hacking Ø MAGIC CRACKED.COM — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

2

Diamonds aren't your friend

Diamonds are a-girl's the CEO of Sterling Jewelers' best friend CRACKED COM — Source: Famous Quotes And Sayings, Corrected

1

Peace for Our Time

GRACKED.COM ...peace for our time* To be specific, our time means the next eleven months. Today is Sept. 30 1938, and Hitler's invasion of Poland starts Sept. 1 1939. We regret any disa ppointment you may experience. — Source: 20 Inspirational Quotes That Everyone Gets Wrong

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