We know that, contrary to popular belief, Bogart never said Play it again, Sam and, of course, Conan Doyle didn't give Sherlock Holmes the famous line Elementary, my dear Watson. Rather surprisingly, though, those two misquotes have proved to have true staying power, probably because they respectively encapsulate the essence of an iconic scene and the relationship between two beloved characters.
I suppose that trying to pass for a verbatim quote what is only an approximation to what someone else said is a habit we all know too well, which is why we should always let a listener know if we are repeating someone else's words or improvising a version of what they said. So, here are your options.
When you are absolutely positive that the words you are about to utter are the exact same words somebody else said you can use these two expressions:
- And he said, quote unquote, "I shall never eat chickpeas again"
- And he said, and I'm quoting, "I shall never eat chickpeas again"
However, if you are unsure as to the accuracy of the quote you should acknowledge your uncertainty. Here are three expressions you can use:
- And he said "I shall never eat chickpeas again", or words to that effect
- And he said, I'm paraphrasing, "I shall never eat chickpeas again"
- And, if memory serves, he said: "I won't eat chickpeas ever again"
Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011), an absolute master orator, was able to effortlessly retrieve correct quotes from memory. Most of us, mere mortals, do not possess that dazzling ability. So... unless your memory is perfect you may want to use some of the above expressions lest a passing reporter take you at face value and quote you saying the wrong thing. By the way, if you are unsure as to what language mastery looks like you should probably take a look at the clip below. I find it quite impressive. Do you?
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