We’ve all heard these famous quotes many, many times.

“An eye for an eye.”

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

“Put your best foot forward.”

“Blood, sweat and tears.”

“Money is the root of all evil.”

One problem. They’re all wrong, points out William W. Craig of Tisdall Clark and Partners, Ltd. of Toronto.

“An eye for an eye” is really “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” in Exodus 21, verse 24.

“Necessity is the mother of invention” stems from an original quotation from Plato: “Necessity, who is the mother of invention.”

“Put your best foot forward.” In Shakespeare’s “King John,” act IV, scene 2, says to Philip the Bastard, “…make haste; the better foot before.” (Because we’ve got two feet, not three or four, better is the correct word.)

“Blood, sweat and tears,” attributed to Winston Churchill, is really, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

“Money is the root of all evil” is actually “The love of money is the root of all evil” in St. Paul’s first epistle to Timothy.