43 Misquoted Phrases

We've all heard them—phrases and sayings that have been passed down through generations, quoted by everyone from our grandparents to pop culture icons. But how often have you stopped to wonder if those quotes are actually correct? It turns out, some of the most popular phrases we use today are actually misquoted or misinterpreted from their original forms. In this article, we're diving into 43 of the most commonly misquoted phrases, uncovering their true origins, and setting the record straight. Prepare to be surprised as we debunk some linguistic myths and reveal the accurate versions of sayings you thought you knew.

1. “Love all, trust a few,Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemyRather in power than use; and keep thy friendUnder thy own life's key: be check'd for silence,But never tax'd for speech.” - William Shakespeare

2. “Hard to say what's right when all I wanna do is wrong.” - Prince

3. “Psychopaths... people who know the differences between right and wrong, but don't give a shit. That's what most of my characters are like.” - Elmore Leonard

4. “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” - Leo Tolstoy

5. “Just because I do not accept the teachings of the devotaries does not mean I've discarded a belief in right and wrong.""But the Almighty determines what is right!""Must someone, some unseen thing, declare what is right for it to be right? I believe that my own morality -- which answers only to my heart -- is more sure and true than the morality of those who do right only because they fear retribution.” - Brandon Sanderson

6. “If I am right, Thy grace impartStill in the right to stay;If I am wrong, O, teach my heartTo find that better way!” - Alexander Pope

7. “This isn't right. This isn't even wrong.” - Wolfgang Pauli

8. “Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.” - Robert Bloch

9. “Had not enough gone wrong?” - Brom

10. “If I could, Sister James, I would certainly choose to live in innocence. But innocence can only be wisdom in a world without evil. Situations arise and we are confronted with wrongdoing and the need to act.” - John Patrick Shanley

11. “One rarely falls in love without being as much attracted to what is interestingly wrong with someone as what is objectively healthy.” - Alain De Botton

12. “Clear thinking at the wrong moment can stifle creativity.” - Karl Lagerfeld

13. “That's the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you're never wrong.” - Christopher Buckley

14. “It's sometimes funny to watch some people doing something the wrong way but doing it confidently. Even more funny, they succeeded.” - Toba Beta [Betelgeuse Incident]

15. “I can't help it. I'm just a big gasbag. I still got leftover barbeque gas." She squeezed her eyes shut tight and did a full minute-long far. "Excuse me," she said.” - Janet Evanovich

16. “Good laws make it easier to do right and harder to do wrong.” - William Ewart Gladstone

17. “What's right isn't what's worked.” - Toba Beta

18. “Everybody is right when there are no wrongs.” - Santosh Kalwar

19. “The world is full of men who want to be right, when actually the secret of a man's strength and his pathway to true honor is his ability to admit fault when he has failed. God wants to fill the church with men who can say they are wrong when THEY ARE WRONG. A man who is willing to humble himself before God and his family and say:"I was wrong." will find that his family has all the confidence in the world in him and will much more readily follow him. If he stubbornly refuses to repent or admit he was wrong, their confidence in him and in his leadership erodes.” - Jim Anderson

20. “This singularity of meaning--I was my face, I was ugliness--though sometimes unbearable, also offered a possible point of escape. It became the launching pad from which to lift off, the one immediately recognizable place to point to when asked what was wrong with my life. Everything led to it, everything receded from it--my face as personal vanishing point.” - Lucy Grealy

21. “Trust the Simi. She ain't never wrong.” - Sherrilyn Kenyon

22. “Being democratic is not enough, a majority cannot turn what is wrong into right. In order to be considered truly free, countries must also have a deep love of liberty and an abiding respect for the rule of law.” - Margaret Thatcher

23. “Olivier took a deep breath, then turned and bowed in farewell. Gersonides nodded in return, then thought of something."The manuscript you brought me, by that bishop. It argues that understanding is more important than movement. That action is virtuous only if it reflects pure comprehension, and that virtue comes from the comprehension, not the action."Olivier frowned. "So?""Dear boy, I must tell you a secret.""What?""I do believe it is wrong.” - Iain Pears

24. “I thought I understood what was best. I knew too little and believed too soon.” - Gloria Whelan

25. “There is no wrong time to do the right thing.” - Charles M. Blow

26. “When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong-- or absolutely right.” - Albert Guinon

27. “Sensible men are all of the same religion. Religious sentiments cannot be stirred up within righteous people of any religion for instigating them to do wrong to their own or fellow brethrens”.” - Dr. Amit Abraham

28. “Anyone who ever bet against you was wrong. Don’t let their opinion blind you from your reality. You were not meant to live their life; LIVE yours!” - Steve Maraboli

29. “Being over there changes a man. Right and wrong don't look so different anymore to some.” - M.L. Stedman

30. “I wonder where you got that idea from? I mean, the idea that it's feeble to change your mind once it's made up. That's a wrong idea, you know. Make up your mind about things, by all means - but if something happens to show that you are wrong, then it is feeble not to change your mind, Elizabeth. Only the strongest people have the pluck to change their minds, and say so, if they see they have been wrong in their ideas.” - Enid Blyton

31. “It's risky most of the time, but its better to listen to your heart.” - Jonathan Anthony Burkett

32. “I find there are usually no extremes in relationships, even friendship. One is not always right or never wrong.” - Boone Brux

33. “И разбирам колко много нежност разпилях, но не по който трябва.” - Камелия Кондова

34. “Accidents are not accidents but precise arrivals at the wrong right time.” - Dejan Stojanovic

35. “Why is it that we are constantly proving the world wrong but never proving ourselves right?” - Lisa Cander

36. “There was something else I couldn't quite define--something that made me uneasy. We were a wrong fit, like unmatching puzzle pieces.” - Heather Anastasiu

37. “The end justifies the means. Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing to get the right result.” - Sebastian Fitzek

38. “Just because it's something original, eccentric or you're not used to it; doesn't mean it's wrong.” - Sandra Chami Kassis

39. “As you grow older, it becomes harder to feel 100 percent happy; you learn all the things that can go wrong, you become superstitious about tempting fate, about bringing disaster upon your life by accidentally feeling too good one day.” - Douglas Coupland

40. “I hate to be wrong. It makes me feel like a failure. Being wrong has the same affect on me as a lack of food or sleep. It lowers my entire mood. But, I need to be proved wrong sometimes, as it restores humility, and doesn't allow my ego to swell to stupidly big sizes.” - Paul Kelly

41. “How can you say that so casually? You're talking about the possible death of hundreds of people, yourself included."He gave a negligent shrug. "Wrong place, wrong time. Life sucks.” - shannon k. butcher

42. “I'VE NEVER BEEN VERY SURE ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT, said Bill Door. I AM NOT SURE THERE IS SUCH A THING AS RIGHT. OR WRONG. JUST PLACES TO STAND.” - Terry Pratchett

43. “What other people may think of the rightness or wrongness is nothing in comparison to my own deep knowledge, my innate conviction that it was wrong.” - Elizabeth Gaskell