Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Attribution ·247 of 348
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. — Sigmund Freud"
They never said that.
What people say
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. — Sigmund Freud"
What was actually said
"No verified Freud source." Anonymous — Attributed — no documented original in Freud's writings or verified recollections
Why it stuck
No letter, lecture note, or first-hand recollection of Freud has this line. It first appears in psychological folklore in the 1950s. Freud loved cigars; the irony makes the quip stick.
Freud's daily cigar habit (up to twenty per day) contributed to the oral cancer that killed him. The "just a cigar" is itself a joke about that, retroactively assigned.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.