20 Famous Misquotations

Surprisingly, there are more than 20 famous misquotations out there when people are so enamored of those who spoke the words the first time. People hear what they want apparently.

“Wear sunscreen.”

A lot of people choose to believe that this was a part of a famous commencement speech given by Kurt Vonnegut. It was revealed that Chicago Tribune writer Mary Schmich coined it.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

It’s from Gandhi, right? Nope, well, Gandhi did say something like this, but the actual quote is much different.

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”

A lot of people think Martin Luther King Jr. said this. Honestly, it was the Facebook status of an English teacher in their 20s.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are adequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

It was a powerful line in Coach Carter, wasn’t it? But it wasn’t rightly attributed to Nelson Mandela as many thought, as it was Marianne Williamson’s quote from her own book.

“The ends justify the means.”

Machiavelli is credited with saying a lot of things, but this is a famous misquotation that many people like. Instead, what he said was “One must consider the final result.” It’s not quite as memorable, is it?

“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they attack you. Then you win.”

It’s an interesting quote, to say the least, but it doesn’t sound like something Gandhi would say. However, it is very close to something said by union activist Nicholas Klein in 1918.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

You can believe what you want, but according to Neil Armstrong, he said “One small step for a man.” Hey, it’s close.

“The lion shall lay down with the lamb.”

If you’re going to quote the bible, and there are many famous misquotations from this book that people use continually. It’s wise to read up and know what it says. Look at Isaiah 11:6 to see the actual line.

“Money is the root of all evil.”

Again, people love to take famous misquotations from the bible and use them freely, don’t they? It’s not too far off, but it’s still not quite right.

“Houston, we have a problem.”

This makes for a dramatic moment in Apollo 13. However, the fact remains that Jim Lovell never said these words.

“Me Tarzan, you Jane.”

It’s simple, memorable, and fiction within fiction. Out of all the famous misquotations available, this one is easy to remember and not worth debating.

“Failure is not an option.”

Apollo 13 fictionalized this story in a big way. Failure kind of had to be an option, or backup plans would have been useless.

“Life is like a box of chocolates.”

First, the idea that anyone leaves out “Mama said…” is doing a huge disservice to the role of Forrest’s mother, who was a great character. But getting down to brass tacks, the line also included “Life was…”.

“He’s alive.”

How this one gets added to a list of famous misquotations is kind of tough to explain. Just to make it clear, the mad doctor says “It’s alive!”.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall…”

Where the double rendition of mirror comes from is hard to say. But the evil queen says mirror once and then continues forward.

“I want to suck your blood.”

So, that sounds creepy. Second, Dracula has never said this unless it’s a campy vampire flick.

“Do you feel lucky, punk?”

The fact that Clint Eastwood said this and made it iconic makes it easy to forget that people misquote the line all the time. After all, it’s pretty badass no matter how it’s said.

“It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it.”

It’s tough to say if this quote is accurate, but a lot of people aren’t too worried about it. Star Trek quotes are just as open to interpretation as many others are.

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

She addresses Toto first if anyone really remembers. Do people still watch movies? Of course they do, but remembering how lines go is up to how we recall them.

“Beam me up, Scotty.”

It’s indeed close, but Scotty’s name usually came first. Star Trek fans might not be as forgiving on this one.