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  • 2019-08-13 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Shakespeare Say A Quote About A ‘Battle Of Wits’? (en)
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  • A post on Facebook claims English playwright William Shakespeare once said, I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed. Verdict: False This quote is apocryphal and does not appear in any of Shakespeare’s writings. Fact Check: While Shakespeare authored many famous sayings , this quote on wit does not come from him. It doesn’t appear in the Shakespeare Quartos Archive , an online database of all his plays, or a complete collection of his poems. Furthermore, scholars told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they do not recognize the expression. I don’t know where it’s from, but it is not Shakespearean, said Paul Budra, author of Shakespeare Early and Late: A Textbook , in an email to the DCNF. Similar expressions have appeared in print since at least the 1860s, according to the website Quote Investigator , though earlier variations may exist. Writer Abby Buchanan Longstreet included a comparable line in her 1866 novel Remy St. Remy, or, The Boy in Blue , which reads, A battle of wits was to be fought, and the Boy in Blue was unarmed tonight. (RELATED: ‘Sail Away From The Safe Harbor’ – Did Mark Twain Say This Quote About Taking Chances?) Versions of the phrase have also been attributed to the likes of Oscar Wilde , Mark Twain and Winston Churchill . All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected] . (en)
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