Churchill quotations Archives - Richard M. Langworth

All the “Quotes” Churchill Never Said (3: Lies to Sex)

23 November 2018 Comments 4 Comments

Fake Quotes continued..

Red Herrings: Quotes not by Churchill (or things he said quoting someone else), continued from Part 2. Compiled for the next expanded edition of Churchill by Himself.

A reader suggests that the list of “Red Herring” fake Churchill quotes be subdivided. We should separate quotes he actually said, but borrowed from someone else, from quotes simply invented out of whole cloth. Not sure we have much to learn from that. First, while I try to name the originator of a quotation not by Sir Winston, I don’t always succeed. Second, my brief extends only to disproving that the words originated with Churchill.…

Churchill on War (1)

6 February 2015 Comments 0 Comments

Part 1: What He Said, 1900-1932

From the time he was a young Member of Parliament, already possessed of experience in war on three continents, Churchill spoke of the frightfulness of modern war and strove, according to his lights, sometimes with questionable tactics and unconventional proposals, to avoid it. His reputation as a warrior tends to obscure his efforts for peace, of which he sometimes despaired, especially toward the end of his life. Herewith (Parts 1&2) Churchill’s own words on war and peace from Churchill by Himself; and (Part 3) why I believe he regretted, in his final years, that despite all, peace still did not prevail in the world.…

Churchillian (or Yogi Berra) Drift: How Quotations are Invented

31 January 2013 Comments 4 Comments

Above: Drifting into Trinidad, March 1961. Churchill, 87, at the Governor’s residence, Port of Spain, during a cruise aboard the Onassis yacht Christina. Lower right: Dr. Eric Williams, who in August 1962 became the first prime minister of independent Trinidad and Tobago.

=========

Churchillian Drift is just the ticket. I have been looking for a term to describe the numerous potted, inaccurate Churchill quotes. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth puts its trousers on.” That is big right now on Twitter. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”…