Our language is full of hundreds of quotations that are often cited but seldom confirmed. Ralph Keyes’s The Quote Verifier considers not only classic misquotes such as “Nice guys finish last,” and “Play it again, Sam,” but more surprising ones such as “Ain’t I a woman?” and “Golf is a good walk spoiled,” as well as the origins of popular sayings such as “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” “No one washes a rented car,” and “Make my day.” Keyes’s in-depth research routinely confounds widespread assumptions about who said what, where, and when. Organized in easy-to-access dictionary form, The Quote Verifier also contains special sections highlighting commonly misquoted people and genres, such as Yogi Berra and Oscar Wilde, famous last words, and misremembered movie lines. An invaluable resource for not just those with a professional need to quote accurately, but anyone at all who is interested in the roots of words and phrases, The Quote Verifier is not only a fascinating piece of literary sleuthing, but also a great read.
Verifiably Excellent I was so impressed with a newspaper feature on Ralph Keyes’s The Quote Verifier that I ordered the book right away. I was not disappointed. There are few books I have ever encountered that are more thoroughly researched — and so entertaining. The book is either a conversation starter (or spoiler, depending on your audience). Keyes delights in debunking commonly held assumptions about famous quotes, but there’s no malice. Just meticulous and entertaining research. He points out the evolution of…
You Can Quote Me on This Two years ago, my co-workers made fun of me because I tried to use the word “eponymous” in a news release. They deleted it, saying that no one knows what that word means anymore. One of the many things I like about Ralph Keyes is that he uses words like “eponymous” — and he expects that you’ll know what it means, too. Keyes’ writing will either teach you some really cool words to use at cocktail parties — or make you wish that you had paid more attention during your 8th-grade vocabulary…