Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·153 of 348
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
They never said that.
What people say
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
What was actually said
"Imitation is the sincerest of flattery." Charles Caleb Colton — Lacon, Vol. I (1820)
Why it stuck
Colton wrote "the sincerest of flattery" — meaning the most sincere kind. The modern version adds "form" and loses the structural parallel with "sincerest."
Colton's book of aphorisms sold in the hundreds of thousands in its era. This line is the only one anyone still quotes.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.