Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Book ·312 of 348
"Truth is stranger than fiction. — Mark Twain"
They never said that.
What people say
"Truth is stranger than fiction. — Mark Twain"
What was actually said
"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." Mark Twain — Twain, Following the Equator (1897)
Why it stuck
Twain wrote the longer version with the explanatory clause. The five-word abbreviation gets attributed to him correctly but misses his actual joke.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.