Can You Complete These Famous Quotes?

By BrainFall Staff - Updated: April 2, 2024

We all fancy ourselves as mavens of memorable sayings, don't we? Famous quotes zip through our conversations like text messages through cyberspace. But let's face it, we've all been that person who confidently starts quoting only to end up mumbling through the second half because our brain hits the snooze button. Worry not, because we've cooked up a snazzy little challenge to tickle your neurons.

Imagine weaving through a labyrinth of words crafted by the likes of Winston Churchill, Maya Angelou, or Mark Twain. You're inches away from the exit, the final word on the tip of your tongue—and bam!—you're stumped. But here lies the fun, the bragging rights hanging in the balance. So gather 'round, fellow BrainFallers, as we put our collective knowledge to the test with a quiz that's part cunning, part enlightening, and all sorts of chuckles.

Test your prowess on lines that have echoed through time, from the profound to the whimsical. Let's see if you can finish these famous quotes without googling the tail end of them. Because, in the end, aren't we all just a quote or two away from our own bit of fame? Roll up your sleeves, sharpen that wit, and may the most quotable BrainFaller win!

Quizzical Queries: Matching Quotes to the Quotable

Ready to test your quote quotient? We're about to embark on a lively jaunt through history and culture, matching wits and wisdom from some of the most notable mouths in the world. Keep your grey cells tickled and your fingers ready to point out the quotable culprits!

Historical Heavyweights

Who said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"? Was it a) Franklin D. Roosevelt b) Winston Churchill c) Abraham Lincoln? That's right, it was a) Franklin D. Roosevelt! Let's try another: "To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." Give yourselves a pat on the back if you guessed b) George Washington.

• Benjamin Franklin: "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
• Mahatma Gandhi: "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
• George Orwell: "Big Brother is watching you."

Literary Legends

Turn the page to our literary lounge, where the likes of Shakespeare and Mark Twain lounge wistfully. Can you connect the ponderous prose to the correct creator? "All that glitters is not gold" — certainly a Shakespearean snap. And what of "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect"? Yes, indeed, that's a Twain twinkle!

• Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray — "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."
• Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice — "It is a truth universally acknowledged..."
• Herman Melville: Moby Dick — "Call me Ishmael."

Philosophical Phrases

Now, let's stroll through the philosophical pavilion. Aristotle once suggested, "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." Wise words indeed! And if we're talking about wisdom, can we possibly forget "The unexamined life is not worth living," which of course, comes from Socrates. But be wary of misquotes; Voltaire never actually said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it!" That was Evelyn Beatrice Hall summing up his philosophy.

• Friedrich Nietzsche: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
• Plato: "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

Cinematic Sayings

Our cinema stars have also bequeathed us litanies of legendary lines. Take the simple yet profound "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get," from Forrest Gump. Or the imperative offer that couldn't be refused in The Godfather: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." Match the line to the scene, and you're a movie maestro!

• Yoda, Star Wars: "Do or do not. There is no try."
• The Joker, The Dark Knight: "Why so serious?"

Modern Musings

Bringing it back to the present, let's talk modern musings that might just ring a bell. Like Steve Jobs with "Stay hungry, stay foolish," or the pop culture wisdom of Kanye West who asserted, "I refuse to accept other people's ideas of happiness for me." Quotes can inspire, lead, and make us laugh—often echoing the truths we recognize but sometimes fail to articulate.

• Barack Obama: "Yes, we can."
• J.K. Rowling: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Quoteworthy Quips: Fact or Fiction?

Before we dive into the labyrinth of wordsmithery, let's get one thing straight: famous quotes often become a game of telephone where the end result can be hilariously off the mark. Now, let's separate the wheat from the chaff and see where our beloved quotes really come from.

Common Misquotes and Their Origins

"Elementary, my dear Watson!" Sounds familiar, right? But here's a twist – Sherlock never said it in Conan Doyle's books. We've become ace detectives in pinning down how these misquotes sneak into our lexicon. Like the game of Broken Telephone, Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain often get credited for quips they never quipped.

• "Money is the root of all evil."
  Original: "For the love of money is the root of all evil." – The Bible

• "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
  Original: Twain's actual phrasing was a bit more elaborate and less catchy.

Quotes Transformed in Pop Culture

Some quotes are like Play-Doh in the hands of pop culture: they get squished and shaped into forms their authors wouldn't recognize. For instance, "Play it again, Sam," from "Casablanca" is actually, "Play it, Sam." Movies twist quotes and we, the audience, remember them with an extra sprinkle of drama.

• "You can't handle the truth!"
  The fierce delivery in "A Few Good Men" makes it stick, but would we remember it if it was, "The truth is not in your capacity to be handled?"

The Power of Misattribution

Misattribution is like a game of tag where historical figures like Eleanor Roosevelt and Oscar Wilde are 'it' more often than not. It's past entertaining to imagine Winston Churchill saying, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" because we've mixed up our history with a dose of Clint Eastwood.

• Eleanor Roosevelt: Often credited with, "Do one thing every day that scares you." While inspiring, she never said it.
• Winston Churchill: A magnet for misquotes, but let's face it, he didn't have the chance to declare, "That's one small step for man."

Now that we've had our fun setting the record straight, remember this, fellow quote enthusiasts: a twist of a word here, a switch of an author there, and we have ourselves a whole new take on a timeless phrase. Ready to test your quote knowledge?_hop on over to BrainFall and see how well you stack up!