Author : Elizabeth Knowles
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 10,62 MB
Release : 2006-10-26
Category : Reference
ISBN : 0191500542
Follow the money Fresh fields and pastures new A good day to bury bad news If the glove doesn't fit you must acquit Brings together a fascinating range of wrongly remembered sayings, popular summaries of original thoughts, and apocryphal or unverifiable comments attributed to a particular person. By revealing what was (and was not) really said, this book celebrates the colour and inventiveness of language change.
Author : Paul F. Boller Jr.
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 186 pages
File Size : 34,15 MB
Release : 1990-06-14
Category : History
ISBN : 0199879168
Abraham Lincoln never said, "You cannot fool all the people all the time." Thomas Jefferson never said, "That government is best which governs least." And Horace Greeley never said, "Go west, young man." In They Never Said It, Paul F. Boller, Jr. and John George examine hundreds of misquotations, incorrect attributions, and blatant fabrications, outlining the origins of the quotes and revealing why we should consign them to the historical trashcan. Many of the misquotes are quite harmless. Some are inadvertent misquotes that have become popular (Shakespeare actually said, "The best part of valor is discretion"), others, the inventions of reporters embellishing a story (Franklin Roosevelt never opened a speech to a DAR group with the salutation, "My fellow immigrants"). But some of the quotes, such as Charles Darwin's supposed deathbed recantation of evolution, falsify the historical record with their blatant dishonesty. And other chillingly vicious ones, filled with virulent racial and religious prejudices, completely distort the views of the person supposedly quoted and spread distrust and hatred among the gullible. These include the forged remarks attributed to Benjamin Franklin that Jews should be excluded from America and the fabricated condemnation of Catholics attributed to Lincoln. An entertaining and thought-provoking book, They Never Said It covers a great deal of history and sets it right. Going beyond a mere catalog of popular misconceptions, Boller and George reveal how rightists and leftists, and atheists and evangelists all have at times twisted and even invented the words of eminent figures to promote their own ends. The ultimate debunking reference, it perfectly complements handbooks of quotations.
Author : Lou Harry
Publisher : Cider Mill Press
Page : 105 pages
File Size : 16,56 MB
Release : 2019-08-06
Category : Humor
ISBN : 1732512620
Motivational quote books abound, but where are the volumes of misquotations?! In this era of fake news and fake quotes, The Little Book of Misquotations uncovers the truth behind the 200+ most famous things they never said! Just because a quote is engraved in marble, stenciled on your mom's wall, or repeated a million times online doesn't exactly mean that it is correct. It's time to set the record straight. The Little Book of Misquotations is the definitive collection of the quotes people frequently get wrong, including: For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. -- Audrey Hepburn (Somebody else said it!) I want to suck your blood. -- Dracula (Nope! He said, I only drink...wine.) Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. -- Banksy (He wasn't the first person to say it!) A penny saved is a penny earned. -- Ben Franklin (That's not what he said!) With deep dives on popular yet erroneous quotations from artists, writers, celebrities, scientists, politicians, and legendary figures from around the globe, The Little Book of Misquotations offers addictive reading--and a delightful reminder not to believe everything you read!
Author : William O'Flaherty
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 151 pages
File Size : 41,32 MB
Release : 2018-03-16
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 1532638426
C.S. Lewis wrote many great words, but not everything you see with his name on it is from the famed author of the Narnia books. Seventy-five quotations are presented that have an association in one way or another with a host of names, including: Ryan Seacrest, Anthony Hopkins, Max Lucado, Rick Warren, and Tim Allen! Learn the three most common ways Lewis is misrepresented: 1.Falsely Attributed Quotes: Expressions that are NOT by him. 2.Paraphrased: Words that are ALMOST what he said. 3.Out of Context: Material he wrote, but are NOT QUITE what he believed. This book doesn’t stop there. Also discover what Lewis actually said that is related to the presented misquotes. Those new to Lewis and the more serious reader of his works will grow in their appreciation of a writer that is not only quotable, but obviously misquotable!
Author : Garson O'Toole
Publisher : Little A
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 31,9 MB
Release : 2017
Category : Common fallacies
ISBN : 9781503933415
"Extensive and brilliant investigations...a tour de force of detective work...Mr. O'Toole is a beacon of accuracy who should inspire all readers who prefer their facts real rather than phony." --Wall Street Journal Everywhere you look, you'll find viral quotable wisdom attributed to icons ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Mark Twain, from Cicero to Woody Allen. But more often than not, these attributions are false. Garson O'Toole--the Internet's foremost investigator into the dubious origins of our most repeated quotations, aphorisms, and everyday sayings--collects his efforts into a first-ever encyclopedia of corrective popular history. Containing an enormous amount of original research, this delightful compendium presents information previously unavailable to readers, writers, and scholars. It also serves as the first careful examination of what causes misquotations and how they spread across the globe. Using the massive expansion in online databases as well as old-fashioned gumshoe archival digging, O'Toole provides a fascinating study of our modern abilities to find and correct misinformation. As Carl Sagan did not say, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
Author : Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 34,39 MB
Release : 2009-10-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0061977020
When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. He frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultraconservative views of the Bible. Since the advent of the printing press and the accurate reproduction of texts, most people have assumed that when they read the New Testament they are reading an exact copy of Jesus's words or Saint Paul's writings. And yet, for almost fifteen hundred years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were deeply influenced by the cultural, theological, and political disputes of their day. Both mistakes and intentional changes abound in the surviving manuscripts, making the original words difficult to reconstruct. For the first time, Ehrman reveals where and why these changes were made and how scholars go about reconstructing the original words of the New Testament as closely as possible. Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes -- alterations that dramatically affected all subsequent versions of the Bible.
Author : Gary Saul Morson
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 403 pages
File Size : 20,50 MB
Release : 2011-06-28
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0300171749
In this lively gambol through the history of "ations and "ation books, Gary Saul Morson traces our enduring fascination with the words of others. Ranging from the remote past to the present, he explores the formation, development, and significance of "ations, while exploring the "verbal museums" in which they have been collected and displayed--commonplace books, treasuries, and anthologies. In his trademark clear, witty, and provocative style, Morson invites readers to share his delight in the shortest literary genre.The author defines what makes a "e "able, as well as the (unexpected) differences between "ation and mis"ation. He describes how "ations form, transform, and may eventually become idioms. How much of language itself is the residue of former "ations? Weaving in hundreds of intriguing "ations, common and unusual, Morson explores how the words of others constitute essential elements in the formation of a culture and of the self within that culture. In so doing, he provides a demonstration of that very process, captured in the pages of this extraordinary new book.
Author : Rod L. Evans Ph.D.
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 242 pages
File Size : 41,74 MB
Release : 2010-06-01
Category : Reference
ISBN : 0399535861
Where were Venetian blinds invented? What color is the black box on a commercial airplane? Where did India ink originate?* Most of us know more than we think we know. We also think we know more than we actually do-because some of what we think we know simply "ain't so." We all harbor misconceptions that are accepted not only because they are popular but also because they make sense. It makes sense to believe, for example, that German chocolate originated in Germany rather than the truth: that German chocolate is so named because it was created by Sam German. It seems logical to believe that Mercury is the hottest planet because of its proximity to the sun, or that buttermilk contains butter, that Danish pastry is from Denmark, and that the boat race America's Cup was named after the United States of America. In Sorry, Wrong Answer, Rod Evans takes readers on a tour of misleading trivia, debunking commonly held assumptions and sharing surprising "right" answers. *Answers: Japan; Orange; China
Author : Paul F. Boller Jr. Emeritus Professor of History Texas Christian University
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 17,3 MB
Release : 1989-05-18
Category : History
ISBN : 0198022220
Abraham Lincoln never said, "You cannot fool all the people all the time." Thomas Jefferson never said, "That government is best which governs least." And Horace Greeley never said, "Go west, young man." In They Never Said It, Paul Boller, Jr., and John George examine hundreds of misquotations, incorrect attributions, and blatant fabrications, outlining the origins of the quotes and revealing why they should be consigned to the historical trashcan. Many of the misquotes are quite harmless. Some are inadvertent misquotes that have become popular (Shakespeare actually said, "The best part of valor is discretion"), others, the inventions of reporters embellishing a story (Franklin Roosevelt never opened a speech to a DAR group with the salutation, "My fellow immigrants"). But some of the quotes, such as Charles Darwin's supposed deathbed recantation of evolution, are blatantly dishonest and falsify the historical record. And others are chillingly vicious, filled with virulent racial and religious prejudices that completely distort the views of the person supposedly quoted and spread distrust and hatred among the gullible. These include the forged remarks attributed to Benjamin Franklin that Jews should be excluded from America, and the fabricated condemnation of Catholics attributed to Lincoln. An entertaining and yet thought-provoking book, They Never Said It sorts out a great deal of history and sets it right, going beyond a mere catalog of popular misconceptions to reveal how conservatives and liberals, atheists and evangelists, all have at times twisted and even invented the words of eminent figures to promote their own ends. It is the ultimate debunking reference, a perfect complement to handbooks of quotations.
Author : Anatoly Liberman
Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
Page : 677 pages
File Size : 49,13 MB
Release : 2023-01-03
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1452968624
Three centuries of English idioms—their unusual origins and unexpected interpretations To pay through the nose. Raining cats and dogs. By hook or by crook. Curry favor. Drink like a fish. Eat crow. We hear such phrases every day, but this book is the first truly all-encompassing etymological guide to both their meanings and origins. Spanning more than three centuries, Take My Word for It is a fascinating, one-of-a-kind window into the surprisingly short history of idioms in English. Widely known for his studies of word origins, Anatoly Liberman explains more than one thousand idioms, both popular and obscure, occurring in both American and British standard English and including many regional expressions. The origins, and even the precise meaning, of most idioms are often obscure and lost in history. Based on a critical analysis of countless conjectures, with exact, in-depth references (rare in the literature on the subject), Take My Word for It provides not only a large corpus of idiomatic phrases but also a vast bibliography. Detailed indexes and a thesaurus make the content accessible at a glance, and Liberman’s introduction and conclusion add historical dimensions. The result of decades of research by a leading authority, this book is both instructive and absorbing for scholars and general readers, who won’t find another resource as comparable in scope or based on data even remotely as exhaustive.
