By Daniel Rigney
What a difference a word can make in the meaning of a famous quotation. Imagine a device – call it a typo-writer – that transcribes entries from Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, but mischievously miscopies a word or two here or there to produce sentences with fresh and unexpected meanings.
Thus we get:
“The unexamined life is not unusual.” – Socrates
“We have nothing to fear but nothing itself. – Franklin Roosevelt
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your cars.” – Marc Antony
“There is nothing certain but death in Texas.” – Ben Franklin
“Imagination is more important than college.” – Albert Einstein
“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bisexual.” -- Irina Dunn
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeal it.” – George Santayana
“A right delayed is a right decayed.” – Martin Luther King
“In the beginning was the work.” – John the Evangelist
“I regret that I have but one life to give to my company.” – Nathan Hale
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust into them.” – William Shakespeare
“Do not go gentle into that good knife. Rage, rage against the dying of the life.” – Dylan Thomas
“Let them eat kale.” – Marie Antoinette
And finally,
"Let us go then, you and I, where the coffee meets the pie." -- T.S. Eliot
If you’re offended by any of these unfamiliar quotations, don’t blame me. The typo-writer did it.
Danagram
Readers annoyed by this post may also be annoyed by "I Hate Quotations" -- Emerson.
What a difference a word can make in the meaning of a famous quotation. Imagine a device – call it a typo-writer – that transcribes entries from Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, but mischievously miscopies a word or two here or there to produce sentences with fresh and unexpected meanings.
Thus we get:
“The unexamined life is not unusual.” – Socrates
“We have nothing to fear but nothing itself. – Franklin Roosevelt
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your cars.” – Marc Antony
“There is nothing certain but death in Texas.” – Ben Franklin
“Imagination is more important than college.” – Albert Einstein
“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bisexual.” -- Irina Dunn
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeal it.” – George Santayana
“A right delayed is a right decayed.” – Martin Luther King
“In the beginning was the work.” – John the Evangelist
“I regret that I have but one life to give to my company.” – Nathan Hale
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust into them.” – William Shakespeare
“Do not go gentle into that good knife. Rage, rage against the dying of the life.” – Dylan Thomas
“Let them eat kale.” – Marie Antoinette
And finally,
"Let us go then, you and I, where the coffee meets the pie." -- T.S. Eliot
If you’re offended by any of these unfamiliar quotations, don’t blame me. The typo-writer did it.
Danagram
Readers annoyed by this post may also be annoyed by "I Hate Quotations" -- Emerson.
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