The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When

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.

Author: Ralph Keyes
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Published: 09/05/2000
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780312340049

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 04/15/2006 pg. 114
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2007 pg. 285

About the Author

Ralph Keyes's books include The Post-Truth Era, The Courage to Write, and Is There Life After High School? He lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

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