They Didn’t Say That: 12 Of The Most Commonly Attributed Quotes

Commonly Misattributed Quotes

Sometimes, we slip and misattribute a famous quote—whether it’s crediting “the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco” to Mark Twain, or “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Lucky for you, not everyone has the upper arm strength to carry around a giant copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, so you’re unlikely to be called out for incorrect name-dropping.

But, to help you out in the future (and to prevent the spreading of fake news or erroneous inspo), we’ve rounded up a list of the most commonly misattributed quotes.

"I can see Russia from my house."

 – Sarah Palin Tina Fey

"On the whole, I would rather be in Philadelphia."

– W.C. Fields Vanity Fair magazine

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend your right to say it."

– Voltaire Voltaire biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

 – Vince Lombardi Red Sanders

"If you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will."

– Abraham Lincoln Screenwriter David Swift

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

 – Maya Angelou Poet Joan Walsh Anglund

"Be nice to nerds. Chances are, you'll end up working for one."

 – Bill Gates Author Charles J. Sykes

"I did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels."

 – Ginger Rogers Comic Bob Thaves

"Let them eat cake."

 – Marie Antoinette Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"Well-behaved women rarely make history."

– Marilyn Monroe Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich