We of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations who participated in the decisions on Vietnam acted according to what we thought were the principles and traditions of this nation. We made our decisions in light of those values. Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why. I truly believe that we made an error not of values and intentions, but of judgment and capabilities. Robert McNamara, In Retrospect
Long experience has taught me that to be criticized is not always to be wrong. Anthony Eden
The absent are always in the wrong. Philippe Nericault Destouches, French dramatist
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Late 18th century proverb
The appearance of right oft leads to wrong. Horace
There is no harm in being sometimes wrong – especially if one is promptly found out. John Maynard Keynes
George, where did it all go wrong? Hotel bellboy, to George Best, allegedly on entering room and seeing empty champagne bottles scattered on floor and former Miss World draped over bed
I may have my faults, but being wrong ain’t one of them. Jimmy Hoffa
Why should you mind being wrong if someone can show you that you are? A J Ayer, attributed
There are different kinds of wrong. The people sinned against are not always the best. Ivy Compton-Burnett, The Mighty and their Fall, 1961
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse. Thomas Szasz, The Second Sin, 1973
A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser to-day than he was yesterday. Alexander Pope, Miscellanies, 1727
But the thought of being a lunatic did not greatly trouble him; the horror was that he might also be wrong. George Orwell, 1984
It is nobler to declare oneself wrong than to insist on being right – especially when one is right. Friedrich Nietzsche
I’d rather be strongly wrong than weakly right. Tallulah Bankhead
To do a great right, you may do a little wrong; and you may take any means which the end to be attained will justify. Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
If the world go wrong, it was, in some off-hand manner, never meant to go right. Charles Dickens, Bleak House
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, Where have I gone wrong? Then a voice says to me, This is going to take more than one night. Charles M Schulz
My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt. Anna Sewell
It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong. Abraham Lincoln
If it’s wrong when they do it, it’s wrong when we do it. Noam Chomsky
Nobody can acquire honour by doing what is wrong. Thomas Jefferson
To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
What’s going wrong, Loggo? Alan Bleasdale, Boys from the Black Stuff: George’s Last Ride, Chrissie, BBC 1982
That the king can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution. William Blackstone
Forgiveness to the injured does belong;
But they ne’er pardon, who have done the wrong. John Dryden, 1631-1700, The Conquest of Granada
Of course I’m crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Robert Anton Wilson
Something goes wrong between a man and the gods, and his whole life is overturned. This is England IV, Sky Atlantic 2022
It was supposed to be a celebration, the biggest day in European football. But for thousands of Liverpool fans the dream ended before the game had even begun. ‘Gas! Gas! Gas!’ … It was like a war zone.’ … What went wrong? Panorama: The Champions League Final: What Went Wrong? BBC 2022
Nobody can acquire honour by doing what is wrong. Thomas Jefferson
I am not one of those who think that the people are never in the wrong. They have been so, frequently and outrageously, both in other countries and in this. But I do say, that in all disputes between them and their rulers, the presumption is at least upon a par in favour of the people. Edmund Burke
Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. Oscar Wilde
The worst thing that can happen to you is if you don’t take responsibility for what you did wrong. Afeni Shakur