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MISTAKES

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[QUOTES FOLLOW LINKS]

see:

APOLOGY

ERROR

MISJUDGEMENTS

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

OOPS

PERFECTION

PRIDE

TAKING THINGS SERIOUSLY

---

If I had my life to live again, I'd
make the same mistakes, only sooner.
--Tallulah Bankhead (1903—1968)
American actress.

An error doesn't become a mistake until
you refuse to correct it.
--Orlando A. Battista (1917— )
Canadian-American chemist and author.

^

Alexander Blackwell (1709—1749)
British adventurer.

Sentenced to be decapitated, Blackwell came
to the block and laid his head on the wrong
side. The executioner pointed out his mistake.
Blackwell moved around to the correct side,
observing that he was sorry for the mistake,
but this was the first time that he had been
beheaded.

--_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^

An expert is a man who has made all the
mistakes, which can be made, in a very
narrow field.
--Niels Bohr (1885—1962)
Danish physicist.
In Robert Andrews
_The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations_, p. 100 [1989].

Sometimes I wonder if I'm in my right mind.
Then it passes off and I'm as intelligent
as ever.
--Samuel Beckett (1906—1989)
Irish dramatist, novelist, and poet.
"Endgame" [1957]

Every great mistake has a halfway moment,
a split second when it can be recalled
and perhaps remedied.
--Pearl S. Buck (1892—1973)
American author noted for her novels of life in China;
winner of the 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Of all the horrid, hideous notes of woe,
Sadder than owl songs or the midnight blast,
Is that portentous phrase, 'I told you so.'
--Lord Byron [George Gordon Byron] (1788—1824)
English Romantic poet and satirist.
_Don Juan_ [1823], canto XIV, st. 50

^^

Charondas (6th century B.C.) Greek
legislator

One of Charondas's laws forbade citizens
to carry weapons into the public assembly.
Forgetting this, he wore his sword into
the public meeting one day. A fellow
citizen reproached him for violating his
own law. "By Zeus, I will confirm it," said
Charondas instantly, and drawing his
sword, killed himself."

--_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^^


Eating words has never given me indigestion.
--Winston Churchill (1874—1965)
British Conservative statesman and
Prime Minister [1940—1945, 1951—1955].

-

Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (106—43 BC)
Roman orator and statesman.


To stumble twice against the same stone
is a proverbial disgrace.
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (106—43 BC)
Roman orator and statesman.

-

Only those who do nothing . . . make no mistakes.
--Joseph Conrad [Teodor Jσzef Konrad Nalecz-Korzeniowski] (1857—1924)
Polish-born English novelist.
_An Outcast of the Islands_ [1896], Chapter 3

Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for
your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it,
and learn from it--immediately.
--Stephen Covey (1932— )
American author.

^

John Foster Dulles (1888—1959)
American statesman.

Asked whether he had ever been wrong,
Dulles considered the question for some
time before replying. 'Yes,' he finally
admitted, 'once-- many, many years ago.
I thought I had made a wrong decision.
Of course, it turned out that I had been
right all along. But I was wrong to have
*thought* that I was wrong.'

--_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^

Biggest damnfool mistake I ever made.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890—1969),
American Army General, supreme Allied commander WWII,
NATO commander, American President [1953—1961].
Recalling his 1953 appointment of Earl Warren
as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Among all forms of mistake, prophecy
is the most gratuitous.
--George Eliot [Mary Ann Evans] (1819—1880)
English novelist.
_Middlemarch_ [1871—1872]

Do not spill thy soul in running hither and yon,
grieving over the mistakes and the vices of others.
The one person whom it is most necessary to
reform is yourself.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803—1882)
American philosopher and poet.

^

In 1968 at the Masters, Robert DiVicenzo finished tied for the
lead with Bob Goalby. But his playing partner, Tommy Aaron,
had accidentally given him a four on the 17th hole when he
actually made a birdie three. DiVicenzo failed to notice the
mistake, signed his card, and that became his official score,
giving Goalby a one-shot victory.
--John Feinstein
_Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black_ [2003]

^

I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the
indifference of wisdom.
--Anatole France [Jacques Anatole Thibault] (1844—1924)
French novelist, man of letters, and winner of the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1921.

None but the well-bred man knows how to confess a
fault, or acknowledge himself in an error.
--Benjamin Franklin (1706—1790)
American politician, inventor, and scientist.
_Poor Richard's Almanac_ [1738], "November"

If all else fails, immortality can always be
assured by spectacular error.
--John Galbraith (1908—2006)
American economist.

To err is human; to blame it on the other
guy is even more human.
--Bob Goddard (1893—1945)
American physicist and one of the inventors of rocket propulsion.

It is only necessary to grow old to become more indulgent.
I see no fault committed that I have not committed myself.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749—1832)
German poet, novelist, and playwright.

The road to wisdom?--Well, it's
plain and simple to express:
Err
and err
and err again
but less
and less
and less.
--Piet Hein (1905—1996)
Danish poet and mathematician.
"The Road to Wisdom" [1966]

The typewriter, ½ike all macζines, has amind of it sown
--Sir A.P. (Alan Patrick) Herbert (1890—1971)
English writer and humorist.

A failure is a man who has blundered, but
is not able to cash in on the experience.
--Elbert Hubbard (1859—1915)
American editor, publisher, and author who
died in the sinking of the "Lusitania."
_The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams_ [1923]

No man is ever old enough to know better.
--Holbrook Jackson (1874—1948)
British journalist, writer, and publisher.

Virtually nothing comes out right the first time.
Failures, *repeated* failures, are finger posts
on the road to achievement. The only time you
don't want to fail is the last time you try
something. . .One fails forward toward success.
--Charles F. Kettering (1876—1958)
American inventor.

When I make a mistake, it's a beaut!
--Fiorello La Guardia (1882—1947)
American politician who served three terms
as mayor of New York City [1933—1945].
1936 remark,
In William Manners
_Patience and Fortitude: Fiorello La Guardia, ch. 21, [1976].

Crooked things may be as stiff and unflexible as straight:
and men may be as positive in error as in truth.
--John Locke (1632—1704)
English political and educational philosopher.
_An Essay concerning Human Understanding_ [1690]

The man who makes no mistakes does
not usually make anything.
--William Connor Magee (1821—1891)
Irish clergyman of the Anglican church.
1868 sermon.

-

If a man makes a slip, admonish him gently and show
him his mistake. If you fail to convince him, blame
yourself, or else blame nobody.
--Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121—180)
Roman emperor [161—180] and Stoic philosopher.
_Meditations_ Book X, Number 4


Though you break your heart, men
will go on as before.
--Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121—180)
Roman emperor [161—180] and Stoic philosopher.
_Meditations_

-

Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass
without comment is a wonderful social
grace.
--Judith "Miss Manners" Martin (1938— )
American newspaper columnist.

It infuriates me to be wrong when I know
I'm right.
--Jean Moliθre [Jean Baptiste Poquelin]
(1622—1673) French comic dramatist.

-

kap posts to USENET newsgrouup:

Last month, after repeated invitations, I rejoined a paperback
book club. Times have changed. To begin with, in the old days
BOMC only had hardcovers and there was no Amazon.com. But,
more importantly, paperback books didn't have such alluring titles
as 'The Sensuous Message.' I ordered 4 books, (I was
tempted, but no, because I figured if I ordered something like that
I would probably die before it was delivered and then Margaret,
upon receiving, would say, "He was *such* a weirdo!" It's kinda
like having clean underware on just in case they deliver you, in really
bad shape, to the hospital.), and of the 4 books I ordered they sent
only 2 correctly. One book they didn't send at all and another book
they sent in error. Marge was home when I opened the package
expecting 'The Oxford Book....of this or that', and instead, received
'Tales of a Geisha.' I explained, but I'm not sure she was convinced.
Ain't it always the way? I could have ordered 'The Senuous Message'
after all! It all turned out okay as I returned 'Geisha' and they sent me
my 'Oxford'. They explained they had run out of stock on the missing
book, 'The Idiots Guide to the Internet', (there are a lot of idiots out
there; I'm not alone!) and they let me pick another one. I chose 'Woe
is I' a handy little English grammar reference book which I had best
read so I can figure out to whom (who?) I should send letters.

--kap

-

The man who makes no mistakes
does not usually make anything.
--Edward John Phelps (1822—1900)
American lawyer and diplomat.
Speech at Mansion House, London [24 January 1889].
Also attributed to Bishop W.C. Magee.

For the truth is that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge
would be historical nonentities--and a great many
people would be alive today--had Washington not
helped bring them to power and the governments
of the United States, Britain, China and Thailand
not supported them, armed them, sustained them
and restored them.
--John Pilger,
"The Friends of Pol Pot,"
_The Nation_ (magazine), [11 May 1998]

A man should never be ashamed to own he has
been in the wrong, which is but saying, in
other words, that he is wiser today than he
was yesterday.
--Alexander Pope (1688—1744)
English poet.

It was such a relief to be right, even though you knew you'd
only got there by trying every possible way to be wrong.
--Terry Pratchett (1948— )
English science fiction writer.
_Feet of Clay_ [1996]

One word sums up probably the responsibility of
any vice-president, and that one word is "to be
prepared."
--Dan Quayle (1947— )
Vice-President of the United States [1989—1993].

-

Gene Rayburn (1917—1999)
American actor and game-show host.

. . .game shows became his turf, and his "Match Game"
tenure survived one hilarious blooper. Interviewing a
contestant and meaning to compliment her dimples, he
looked at her face and said, "you have the most beautiful
nipples I have ever seen."

-

^^

Sir Michael Redgrave (1908—1985)
British stage actor.

During one play his scene called for him to be left
onstage with one attendant as he prepared to commit
suicide. His line was to be "Bring me a pint of port
and a pistol." With the audience in a high state of
tension, Redgrave called, "Bring me a pint of piss and
a portal." Trying to help the situation, the young actor
who played the attendant asked, "A pint of *piss,*
my lord? "Aye," responded a furious Redgrave,
"*and* a portal."

_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_, edited by Clifton
Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^^

It is necessary for us to learn from others' mistakes.
You will not live long enough to make them all yourself.
--Hyman G. Rickover (1900—1986)
American naval officer and engineer who developed
the world's first nuclear-powered engines and the
first atomic-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus,
launched in 1954 {EB}.

I zigged when I should have zagged.
--Jack Roper (1904—1966)
American heavyweight boxer and actor.
After recovering from a knockout by Joe Louis [17 April 1939].

A life spent making mistakes is not only
more honorable but more useful than a
life spent doing nothing.
--George Bernard Shaw (1856—1950)
Irish comic dramatist, literary critic, Socialist
propagandist, and winner of the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1925 [he didn't accept it.]
_The Doctor's Dilemma_, preface

All men make mistakes, but married men find
out about them sooner.
--Red [Richard Bernard] Skelton (1913—1997)
American comedian.

All men make mistakes. But a good man yields
when he knows his course is wrong, And repairs
the evil. The only crime is pride.
--Sophocles (496?—406 B.C.)
Greek dramatist.

The ultimate result of shielding men from
the effects of folly, is to fill the world
with fools.
--Herbert Spencer (1820—1903)
English philosopher.
_Essays_ [1891] vol. 3
"State Tamperings with Money and Banks"

Well, if I called the wrong number,
why did you answer the phone?
--James Thurber (1894—1961)
American humorist and cartoonist.
Cartoon caption, The New Yorker [5 June 1937]

-

The report of my death was an exaggeration.
--Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835—1910)
American humorist, novelist, journalist, and river pilot.
In "New York Journal" [2 June 1897].


We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -
and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She
will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again - and that is well; but also she will
never sit down on a cold one any more.
--Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835—1910)
American humorist, novelist, journalist, and river pilot.
_Following the Equator_ [1897] Ch. 11

-

The great virtue of man lies in this ability to
correct his mistakes and to continually make a
new man of himself.
--Wang Yang-ming (1472—1529)
Chinese scholar-official whose Idealistic
interpretation of Neo-Confucianism influenced
philosophical thinking in East Asia for
centuries (E.B.).

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
--Harry Morris Warner [Hirsch Eichelbaum]
(1881—1958) Polish-born co-founder of Warner Brothers.
{Referrring to the advent of talkies.}

I wouldn't pay $50,000 for any damn
book, any time.
--Jack Warner [John Leonard Eichelbaum] (1892—1978)
Canadian-born co-founder of Warner Brothers.
Turning down the chance to film "Gone With the Wind,"
quoted in Max Wilk _The Wit and Wisdom of Hollywood_ [1971].

To err is human—but it feels divine.
--Mae West (1893—1980)
American stage and film actress.

The physician can bury his mistakes, but the
architect can only advise his clients to plant
vines.
--Frank Lloyd Wright (1867—1959)
American architect.
In the "New York Times Magazine" [4 October 1953].

-----

fallible [FAL-uh-bul], adjective:
1. Liable to make a mistake.
2. Liable to be inaccurate or erroneous.

gaffe [gaf], noun:
a blunder; faux pas

heterophemy (noun) ['het-κ-rκ-fee-mi]
The inadvertent use of one word or phrase when another is intended.

solecism (noun)
A socially awkward or tactless act.
Synonyms: faux pas, gaffe, slip, gaucherie


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| MACARTHUR (DOUGLAS) - MALICE | MAN - MARINES | MARRIAGE | MARTYRS - MAUGHAM (WILLIAM SOMERSET) | MAXIMS - MEANNESS | MEDICINE - MEMORIAL DAY | MEMORIES - MEMORY | MEN - MEN v. WOMEN | MENTAL ILLNESS - MILK | MIND (THE) - MISERY | MISFORTUNE - MISSOURI | MISTAKES | MISTAKEN IDENTITY - MODESTY | MONEY | MONROE - MOON | MORAL ASSASINATION - MORALITY | MORNING - MOUNTAINS | MOVIE DIALOGUE - MUSHROOMS | MUSIC - MYTHOLOGY |
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