The greatest works of pop culture are also the most insanely
quotable. We all love to swap lines of dialogue from our favorite books, movies
and TV shows — but too bad we usually get them wrong. Here are 12 famous
quotes — that are actually misquotes.
12) “I don’t
think we’re in Kansas anymore”
The Wizard of Oz is remembered for a lot of things, like
being the first movie shown in Technicolor. But it’s also remembered for
long-lived lines like “I’m melting!” or “fly my pretties!” But
the above line of dialogue isn’t what Dorothy actually says. The real line is “Toto,
I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”People just don’t speak like they’re from the
late ’30s anymore — not like they used to.
11) “With great
power comes great responsibility”
This one is a bit different, since it actually does get
spoken in the first big Spider-Man movie — but it’s still a misquote, of
sorts. Spider-Man is famous for having a wise old uncle, who gets gunned down
by a criminal that Spidey failed to stop. And it’s Uncle Ben’s famous words “With great power
comes great responsibility” that made him a cultural icon. But despite
always ending up dead, Uncle Ben lucked out in a way — because in the original
story he never says that line. It’s actually a narration caption, making it
more like the voice of God (known in some circles as Stan Lee).
10) “I vant to
suck your blood!”
Bela Lugosi played Dracula in the adaptation that arguably
popularized the blood-sucking king of vampires, but the thing most people don’t
realize is that this Dracula isn’t as up-front about his intentions as many
seem to think. In fact, he never utters the famous(ly cheesy) line “I vant
to suck your blood!” He’s much more suave when it comes to his feeding.
9) “Somebody set
us up the bomb”
Let’s be honest — the pinnacle of literary achievement was
obviously the European translation of Japan’s legendary video game Zero Wing. Thought you’ve never heard of
it? Well, do the words “all your base are belong to us” sound
familiar to you? Thought so — but that’s actually not the line most people
screw up. Actually, it’s the line that starts off one of the oldest Internet
joke-videos that gets ruined. “Somebody set us up the bomb,” obsessed
fans decreed at the turn of the millennium. But in truth the broken English
actually said “Somebody set up us the bomb.” Easy mistake, right? You
should have known better than to try and make this sentence make sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG8ha2D26g
8) “Bubble,
bubble, toil and trouble”
In Macbeth, the
very first scene involves the three witches brewing up some concoction while
chanting some kind of spell. “Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble,” they
say — while adding in such choice items as eye of newt and tongue of dog. But
unless you’re in an episode of DuckTales,
you’d be screwing the spell up. The real three witches actually say “Double,
double, toil and trouble/fire burn and cauldron bubble.” Write that one
down in your potions book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59BHNYpKx2A
7) “Run, you
fools!”
Gandalf gets a lot of great lines, and is arguably the most
epic wizard of all time. As such, it’s a travesty against nature and the soul
of J. R. R. Tolkien to misquote him. Unfortunately, many people manage to screw
up one of his most iconic moments: when he tells the fellowship to “Fly,
you fools” after sacrificing himself against the Balrog. Most people tend
to say “Run, you fools” instead — probably because neither Hobbits,
Dwarves, Humans, nor Elves actually have the ability to fly.
6) “We’re going to need a bigger boat”
The actual line from Jaws is, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” Which is more wry and sarcastic. [Thanks, SmashTheCrease!]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82O8A0oaIxE
5) “Mirror,
mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”
The evil queen and her mirror are legend among many vain
children (and now many adults) — but most people seem to get her question
wrong. The Queen doesn’t repeat the word “mirror” — that would be
redundant, and the queen clearly doesn’t waste her time messing around. No,
instead she acknowledges the mirror’s mystical nature as well as the singular
nature of her superior by saying “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the
fairest one of all?”
4) “Get your
stinkin’ paws off me, you damn dirty ape!”
This is the best comeback to bust out with, if someone tries
to manhandle (or rather, ape-handle) you. It’s forceful and stylish, to quote a
classic movie like that. But beware who you insult, because if they’re a film
buff, they’ll just laugh. Their reason? Because the line is “Take your
stinkin’ paws off me, you damn dirty ape!” Obviously you have to be more
forceful by saying “take” instead of “get.”
3) “Elementary,
My Dear Watson”
Sherlock Holmes is renowned for one line above all others,
and its fame is only matched by how patronizing it is: “Elementary, my
dear Watson.” But did you really think Sherlock actually ever uttered such
a phrase? How quaint your meager intelligence is. In truth, all it took was a
little sleuthing to figure out that while the famed detective says “Elementary”
and “My dear Watson” on multiple occasions, the closest he ever gets
to saying them is in reverse of the famous order, separated by multiple other
words in between. You can check The
Crooked Man yourself and see how elementary it is yourself.
2) “Beam me up,
Scotty”
This is possibly the most famous quote from the original
Star Trek — or at least, it’s up there with “I’m a doctor, not a
—-” and “He’s dead, Jim.” And Kirk never says these exact
words. William Shatner spent years explaining to anyone who would listen that
this is a fake quote — until he finally gave up and decided to
embrace it. Kirk does say “Scotty, beam us up” in Star Trek IV, which is close.
1) “Join me,
Luke. It is your destiny.”
Darth Vader never says those exact words — even though
they’re quoted that way constantly, including in some books
about Star Wars. Vader also never says “Luke, I am your
father.” Here’s the complete conversation:
VADER: If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan
never toldyou what happened to your father.
LUKE: He told me enough! He told me you killed him.
VADER: No. I am your father.
LUKE: No. No. That’s not true! That’s impossible!
VADER: Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
LUKE: No! No! No!
VADER: Luke. You can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is
your destiny. Join me, and we can rule the galaxy as father and son.
Come with me. It’s the only way.
