Winston Churchill

1874–1965 · British prime minister, statesman & author

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill led Britain as prime minister during the Second World War and again in 1951–55, and won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical writing and oratory. As one of the internet’s most quoted figures, he is a magnet for invented aphorisms — witty, cynical lines get pinned to his name to borrow his authority. Ironically, Churchill’s documented remarks on the average voter were far warmer than this quip suggests.

Traced to source

7 quotes we’ve traced to Winston Churchill

“Blood, sweat and tears”

Disputed

“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others”

Disputed

“If you're going through hell, keep going”

Disputed

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”

Disputed

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”

Disputed

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”

Disputed

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter”

Disputed

Not actually Winston Churchill

Often misattributed to Winston Churchill

Famous lines widely pinned on Winston Churchill that we’ve traced to someone else.

“Americans will always do the right thing, after exhausting all the alternatives”

actually Abba Eban

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life”

actually Ed Greenwood

On the research bench

Commonly pinned on Winston Churchill — under review

3 lines flagged as pinned on Winston Churchill and queued for a full source trace — not yet verified.

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened”

Disputed

“Never let a good crisis go to waste”

Disputed

“This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put”

Disputed

Did they really say it?

Thought Winston Churchill said something else?

Type a quote you think Winston Churchill said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.