Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·294 of 348
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
They never said that.
What people say
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
What was actually said
"Figures often beguile me ... "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."" Mark Twain — Chapters from My Autobiography (1906) by Mark Twain
Why it stuck
Twain credited Disraeli; no Disraeli source exists. The phrase was in British print by 1891.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.