Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Proverb ·268 of 348
"The early bird gets the worm."
They never said that.
What people say
"The early bird gets the worm."
What was actually said
"The early bird catcheth the worme." John Ray — A Collection of English Proverbs (1670)
Why it stuck
Correct modernised version — but "catcheth" is the 17th-century form. And the American second half, "but the second mouse gets the cheese," is a 1990s invention, not an original couplet.
John Ray was an English naturalist; his proverb book is one of the earliest anthologies of its kind in English.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.