Incomplete & Misunderstood Quotes

Created: 2025/1/22
Last Edited: 2025/1/23

Here are some quotes and storiesthat are incomplete and often misunderstood. Click the white arrow next to the incomplete quote to see the full quote.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.

Jack of all trades, master of none.

A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.

The customer is always right.

The customer is always right in matters of taste.

The Icarus Deception - From Greek mythology, Daedalus, the inventor of the labyrinth that held the Minotaur, was imprisoned when he and his son Icarus escaped from the labyrinth. Daedalus and Icarus escaped their prison by flying with wings fashioned from feathers and held together by wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, as that would melt the wax in his wings and he would fall into the sea and drown. This led to the idiom "fly too close to the sun"

An often skipped detail is that Icarus was also warned not to fly too close to the sea, lest the moisture and salt from the sea weigh his wings down and cause him to drown. Only one half the story became an idiom, and now far too many of us fly too close to the ocean rather than dare to risk flying too close to the sun.