WHAT THEY DIDN'T SAY: A BOOK OF MISQUOTATIONS; ED. BY ELIZABETH KNOWLES

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.

an Entertaining And Thought-provoking Book For Language Buffs And Anyone Interested In Quotations, what They Didn't Say Sifts Through More Than One Hundred And Fifty Misquotations, Incorrect Attributions, And Apocryphal Remarks To Reveal The Origins Of The Quotes. Organized In An Accessible A-z Format, Quotes Range From Actors Are Cattle (alfred Hitchcock) To You Dirty Rat! (james Cagney) And Span From The Classical World Right Up To The Present Day.

bringing Together A Fascinating Range Of Wrongly Remembered Sayings, what They Didn't Say Aims To Set The Record Straight By Revealing The Real Names And Actual Words Behind The Famous Missayings.

sample Entry:
a Good Day To Bury Bad News.
in The Hours Following News Of The Terrorist Action In America On 11 September 2001 (nine-eleven), The British Government Adviser Jo Moore Sent Out An Email Reading, It Is Now A Very Good Day To Get Out Anything We Want To Bury. This Was Leaked And Widely Reported; Public Shock And Distaste Were Heightened By Its Becoming Fixed In The General Consciousness In The Form, A Good Day To Bury Bad News.

robert Saundersoncopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

adult/high School
alas, Shakespeare Did Not Write Alas, Poor Yorick. I Knew Him Well. The Textually Correct Reading Is: Alas, Poor Yorick. I Knew Him, Horatio. So Why The Change And Why Do We Remember Well Instead Of Horatio? Knowles Provides An Explanation For This Misremembered Quote And About 150 Others In Her Enjoyable And Informative Collection Of Things Not Said Or Not Quite Said. The Author Also Includes Incorrect Attributions And Several Apocryphal Remarks That Scholars Have Not Been Able To Find In The Works Of Their Supposed Originators. The Selections Range From The Extremely Common (nice Guys Finish Last, Let Them Eat Cake) To The Lesser Known (laws Are Like Sausages, He Once Shot A Publisher). Throughout, The Tone Is More Casual Than Scholarly, More Informative Than Authoritative. Knowles Strikes A Good Balance Between Thoroughness And Brevity When Tracing The Origins Of These Quotes And Sayings. The Entries Are Arranged In An A-z Format, With A Simple Alphabetical Listing Of The Misquotations At The Beginning And A Name (author) Index At The Back. A Helpful Introduction Offers Keen Observations On How Misquotations Tend To Enter Our Collective Consciousness. The Book Makes A Good Circulating Volume And Can Also Serve On The Reference Shelf.

An entertaining and thought-provoking book for language buffs and anyone interested in quotations, What They Didn't Say sifts through more than one hundred and fifty misquotations, incorrect attributions, and apocryphal remarks to reveal the origins of the quotes. Organized in an accessible A-Z format, quotes range from "Actors are cattle" (Alfred Hitchcock) to "You dirty rat!" (James Cagney) and span from the classical world right up to the present day. Bringing together a fascinating range of wrongly remembered sayings, What They Didn't Say aims to set the record straight by revealing the real names and actual words behind the famous missayings. Sample entry: A good day to bury bad news. In the hours following news of the terrorist action in America on 11 September 2001 ("nine-eleven"), the British government adviser Jo Moore sent out an email reading, "It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury." This was leaked and widely reported; public shock and distaste were heightened by its becoming fixed in the general consciousness in the form, "a good day to bury bad news." Brings together a 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 presents the colour and inventiveness of language change.