Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·66 of 348
"East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."
They never said that.
What people say
"East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."
What was actually said
"Full ballad line: "…but there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, when two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!"" Rudyard Kipling — "The Ballad of East and West" (1889)
Why it stuck
Kipling's poem argues the opposite — that the divide dissolves between equals. The famous opening line is quoted without the reversal that follows it.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.