Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Oxford's flagship quotation reference, prized for its rigorous sourcing.
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first published in 1941, is Oxford University Press's flagship quotation reference. It is organised by author and tends to be stricter than Bartlett's about sourcing: a quote that cannot be traced to a published or otherwise verifiable original is more likely to be excluded.
The ODQ is widely used by editors, journalists, and academics as a verification tool. If a famous line is not in the ODQ and not in Bartlett's, the careful writer treats it as suspect until a primary source surfaces.
Like Bartlett's, the book is now updated regularly to track new voices in politics, film, music, and online culture.
“History is more or less bunk.”
Keep reading the glossary
The landmark English-language quotation reference, first published in 1855.
The original record of a quote — the book, letter, speech, or recording in which it first appeared.
A formal reference that lets a reader locate the source of a quote.
A 2,000-year-old practice of distilling ethical instruction into short, repeatable lines.