How I verify
Every entry starts with a quote someone attached to a famous name. I go looking for where it first appeared, and the verdict reflects how far the trail goes.
The verdicts
- Misattributed
- Someone else said it first, and we know who.
- Paraphrased
- A reworded version of something they really said.
- Contested
- The history is tangled: the line grew out of older sources, or the credit is genuinely split.
- Unverified
- No record in their work, and the true origin is unknown.
- Accurate
- Checked against a primary source. They really said it.
What counts as evidence
Primary sources come first: the original book, letter, speech or archive. After that, reputable reference works and careful researchers like Quote Investigator. Quote aggregators like Goodreads are never evidence; they’re usually where the misquote is spreading.
“No record found” isn’t proof
Not finding a quote in someone’s work makes it Unverified, not Misattributed. Misattributed means I can point to who said it first. Absence of evidence is worth logging, but it’s a weaker claim, and the verdict says so.
Corrections
Think I got one wrong? Send a correction with your source. Entries show the date they were last updated.