The Worlds Most Misconstrued snd Defiled Quotes

[fix-the-spade]

Survival of the fittest

It was not, is not and never has been survival of the fittest.

It is survival of the best fitted (to a given environment).

Cheetahs are among the fittest animals on the planet, ditto Wolves, Great White Sharks, Polar Bears and Blue Wales, so how come they're all in decline. Perhaps that animal with the ability to adapt and fit itself and it's home to almost any environment has something to with it.
This one never ceases to infuriate me.

 

[pipboy2010]

Money is the root of all evil. The actual quote is The love of money is the root of all evil.

There's a distinction between being wealthy and greedy. Although I am neither of those things, so I can't really confirm that first hand.

 

[muckinscavitch]

One small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind.

There was a error in the transmission back to earth, saying it without the A makes no sense, it would be like saying 2 is 4, 3 is 4.

 

[AkJay]

In I Love Lucy, Richie never said "Lucy, You got some 'splannin' to do!"

 

[JacOak]

Um, I know one! Wait...
*Hurries off to fetch quote that hasn't been used*

"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all"
The original quote, edited after a firestorm of controversy, was
"'Tis better to have loved and lost then listen to an album by Olivia Newton-John. Because anything is better than that."

Cookie for reference.

 

[ShakyFiend]

I get most annoyed when people quote and then say they dont know who said it, the quote is completely irrelevent if you dont know the source people! This is extremely hypocritic as a matter of fact, because I can never remeber who said them and simply assighn it to the most likely person I can think of. As a result my friends are under the impression that plato, freud and Shakespeare were incredibly prolific when it came to quotes.

 

[The Austin]

"I could care less." Incorrect, you Couldn't care less.

THANK YOU GOD, SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED THE GRAMMAR!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AfterAscon]

One small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind.

There was a error in the transmission back to earth, saying it without the A makes no sense, it would be like saying 2 is 4, 3 is 4.

It was a mistake by Neil Armstong. The quote is definitely "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Just listen to the actual recording, there's no room for this mythical 'A'.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Many editions of George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 published during the Cold War had the opening quote "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism". The publishers intentionally left out the last part of his sentence: "and for democratic socialism, as I understand it."

Actually, this is entirely anecdotal, I forgot which source I learned this from. The irony just kills me though.

 

[NeutralDrow]

"The exception proves the rule," being used to dismissing pieces of countervailing evidence.

I'm chalking it up to linguistic drift that people don't seem to get that "prove" in that case means "test" (as in "the exception calls the rule into question").

 

[NeutralDrow]

Many editions of George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 published during the Cold War had the opening quote "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism". The publishers intentionally left out the last part of his sentence: "and for democratic socialism, as I understand it."

Actually, this is entirely anecdotal, I forgot which source I learned this from. The irony just kills me though.

The irony being that George Orwell was actually a democratic socialist, right?

 

[cleverlymadeup]

geez in a bunch of geeks you missed the biggest one

"Beam Me up Scotty"

Kirk never said that, the closest is "Beam me up, Mr. Scott" and that was after the phrase was coined

there is also "Just the facts ma'am" which is attributed to Dragnet but was never said in the show at all

the most famous one is "Play it again Sam" the phrase is either "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." or "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

Alot of shows say "Man the tarpedo's, Full speed ahead!"

The original quote was "Damn the tarpedo's, Full speed ahead!"

Meaning that he meant to ram the target, not shoot it with the missles

 

[Xvito]

Well...

"Play it again Sam" comes to mind. I hate it when people say that.

 

[Thanatos34]

Crap, got another one.

"Elementary, my dear Watson."

Holmes never said that, except in some crappy TV special.

Actually, Holmes did say that. Let me find which adventure it's in, though I think it's in A Study in Scarlet.

 

[CIA]

I heard the president of a college use "Never let your education get in the way of your learning." I don't think that is the right message for him to convey. If people took it seriously they'd be dropping out by the truckload.

I think the quote is either Mark Twain or incorrectly attributed to him.

 

[Seldon2639]

The biggest ones for me are mostly words which have entered the collective subconscious as meaning something really different from what you're really saying.

"Hopefully I'll have time this weekend"

What you mean to say:

"I certainly hope I'll have time this weekend"

What you're technically saying:

"I have time this weekend, and have hope while I have time"

Hopefully (being an adverb) would modify the verb "will" in the sentence. It would describe your state of "will", rather than indicating a desire to have time.

"I'll be leaving momentarily"

You mean to say:

"I'm going in just a few seconds"

What you're actually saying:

"I'm leaving, but I'll be back in a few seconds".

Momentarily (again, an adverb) describes the leaving, thus making the act of "leaving" only occur for a moment, requiring quick return.

The difference between "anxious" and "eager", is another one. The former indicates some trepidation, the latter simply indicates positive anticipation.

But, on the other side of things, I can't stand people who honestly correct the use of the phrase "gilding the lily". Yes, the phrase technically is "to gild refined gold, to paint the lily", but anyone who would care already knows that.

 

[RanD00M]

Well i have been hearing people throw "Carp Diem" alot around lately.I always ask them what it means.Only about twenty% get it right.Most say "Life You're Life" But when it is "Seize the day/moment".

 

[LockHeart]

The one that really annoys me is from Margaret Thatcher - "There is no such thing as society."

*slap*

No! Bad! Allow me to hold your head beneath the putrescent waters of knowledge, oaf, for the full quote is as follows: "They are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours."

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Many editions of George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 published during the Cold War had the opening quote "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism". The publishers intentionally left out the last part of his sentence: "and for democratic socialism, as I understand it."

Actually, this is entirely anecdotal, I forgot which source I learned this from. The irony just kills me though.

The irony being that George Orwell was actually a democratic socialist, right?

The irony being that this type of censorship was typical of the totalitarianism he objected to and wrote about in his novels. Wait, were you making a joke? I think I've missed something.

Well i have been hearing people throw "Carp Diem" alot around lately.I always ask them what it means.Only about twenty% get it right.Most say "Life You're Life" But when it is "Seize the day/moment".

Blame that one on Robin Williams and the Dead Poet's Society.