Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Film ·161 of 348
"Just the facts, ma'am."
They never said that.
What people say
"Just the facts, ma'am."
What was actually said
"All we want are the facts, ma'am." Sgt. Joe Friday — Dragnet (radio 1949; TV 1951–1959)
Why it stuck
Friday never says the shorter version verbatim on the show. Stan Freberg's 1953 parody "St. George and the Dragonet" popularised "Just the facts, ma'am," and the snappier version stuck.
Webster's New World Dictionary cites the paraphrase, not the original — a sign of how fully the misquote replaced the source.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.