Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Contents
- 1 English
- 1.1 Etymology
- 1.2 Pronunciation
- 1.3 Proverb
- 1.4 See also
English
Etymology
Appeared in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, when the lead character Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) says “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”
Pronunciation
-
Audio (AU) (file)
Proverb
life is like a box of chocolates
- (simile) Life is full of surprises; you never know what will happen next.
See also
- bowl of cherries
Retrieved from "//en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=life_is_like_a_box_of_chocolates&oldid=66238346"
Categories:
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English proverbs
- English multiword terms
- English similes
Skip to content
From: Forrest Gump
Genre: Movies
Who said it?: Forrest Gump
The story behind the quote: This week’s quote, once again, comes from DJ Miller. We thank you for your submission again.
The quote from the very quotable film from 1994 film, Forrest Gump. Based on the book of the same name, Forrest Gump is a person of low IQ but, despite his apparent handicap, he proceeds to go on different new adventures and meet people who would go on to make history, making his life one of the most fulfilling ones ever.
The quote comes from the very first scene of the film. While waiting for a bus, Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) offers a piece of chocolate from a box. He then remembers one of his mother’s sayings, which just so happens to be the quote in question.
Fun Fact: Most people think the quote goes “Life is like a box of chocolates” but he actually says “was” at this point. Forrest’s mother (played by Sally Field) does say a version of the quote but she says, “Life is a box of chocolates” without the word “like” in it.
I guess people misremember the quote because the way we remember it is grammatically correct.
Geek wisdom: Life is full of surprises and you never really know what will happen next. Sometimes good things will happen. Sometimes bad things will happen. But that’s just how life goes.
Most of my childhood (and adult life) was spent doing a lot of geeky stuff: watching TV, playing video games and going to the movies. To some, it may have been a waste of time. Well, to me, it has made me what I am today... a geeky adult. I actually write for a couple of blogs, namely: geekwisdom.wordpress.com 3rdworldgeeks.com gamemoir.com Please check them out! View all posts by Victor de la Cruz
Post navigation
“Life is like a box of chocolates” – the misquote that launched a thousand variations…
“My mama always said, life was like a box a chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
“LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES...BUT 2020 IS NOTHING BUT NUTS.” “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in
memory.” “Life is not like a box of chocolates. A box of chocolates is all good. I mean, it would be like a
box of chocolates if there was a occasional turd.” “Forrest Gump’s mother had a lot of catchy sayings. I never really understood any of them. Life is
not like a box of chocolates. Life is more like a wad of gum stuck to the bottom of your favorite pair of shoes. The more you try to clean up the mess, the stickier it becomes.” “Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever
asks for. Unreturnable, because all you get back is another box of chocolates. So you’re stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there’s nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while there’s a peanut butter cup, or an English Toffee. But they’re gone too fast. The taste is fleeting. So you end up with nothing but broken bits filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts. If you’re desperate enough to eat those, all you’ve got left is a — is an
empty box, filled with useless brown paper wrappers.” “Life is like a sewer. What you get out of
it depends on what you put into it.” “Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism. The way you play it is free
will.” Here’s another “Guest Post” from my QuoteCounterquote.com blog…
THE FAMOUS MOVIE QUOTE:
Forrest Gump (actor Tom Hanks)
In the 1994 film Forrest Gump
These lines are
usually misquoted as “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” And, both versions are different than what Forrest says in the 1986 novel by Winston Groom that the film is based on. What Forrest says in
the opening line of the novel is: “Let me say this: bein a idiot is no box of chocolates.”He goes on to explain: “People laugh, lose patience, treat you shabby. Now they says folks sposed to be kind to the afflicted, but let me tell you — it ain’t always that way. Even so, I got no complaints, cause I reckon I done live a pretty interestin life, so to speak.”
THE 2020 PANDEMIC/POLITICAL CLUSTER$&*%/WILDFIRES
VERSION:
A sign on a 2020 Halloween installation in Medina, Ohio, which features a life-size doll version of Forrest Gump on a park bench. A photo of the installation was included in
an article on the Cleveland.com website posted in September 2020.
LEONARD NIMOY’S POIGNANT LAST TWEET:
Leonard Nimoy
American actor and author, especially known for his portrayal of the Vulcan character Spock in the Star Trek TV series and movies
Nimoy posted
these moving words on his popular Twitter feed the night of February 22, 2015. It was his last tweet. Early that morning he was rushed to the hospital. A few days later he died, at age 83, from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The letters “LLAP” at the end of the tweet were his shorthand initials for
“Live long and prosper,” the popular catchphrase he used in many Star Trek episodes and films. Nimoy first spoke the line in the “Amok Time” episode of the original Star Trek series, aired on September 15, 1967, as Episode 1 of Season 2.
BILL MAHER’S COUNTERQUOTE:
Bill Maher
American comedian and talk show host
A comment Maher made on an episode of his first major TV show
Politically Incorrect. (I watched that ep and wrote down the quip, but I forgot to note the date. The show originally aired from 1997 to 2002.)
THE WEREWOLF SUPERMODEL COUNTERQUOTE:
Ronda Thompson (1955-2007)
American novelist
In her novel Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel (2007)
THE CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN’S RANT:
The “Cigarette Smoking Man”
The X-Files character played by actor William B. Davis
In a 1996
episode of the The X-Files TV series
TOM LEHRER’S VARIATION:
Tom Lehrer
American songwriter and satirist
Part of his spoken introduction to the song “We Will All Go Together When We Go,” on the album An Evening Wasted With Tom
Lehrer(1953). The lyrics of the song include the line: “Life is like a sewer / And I'm trying to wade through her.”
NEHRU’S VARIATION:
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964
This popular quote appears to have first been attributed to Nehru by Norman Cousins, editor of the Saturday Review,
in a 1967 issue of that venerable periodical.
* * * * * * * * * *
Comments? Corrections? Questions? Email me or post them on my Famous Quotations Facebook page.
Related reading, viewing, listening and stuff…
Copyrights, Disclaimers & Privacy Policy
Copyright © Subtropic Productions LLC
All original text written for the This Day in Quotes quotations blog is copyrighted by the Subtropic Productions LLC and may not be used without permission, except for short "fair use" excerpts or quotes which, if used, must be attributed to ThisDayinQuotes.com and, if online, must include a link to //www.ThisDayinQuotes.com/.
To the best of our knowledge, the non-original content posted here is used in a way that is allowed under the fair use doctrine. If you own the copyright to something posted here and believe we may have violated fair use standards, please let us know.
Subtropic Productions LLC and ThisDayinQuotes.com is committed to protecting your privacy. For more details, read this blog's full Privacy Policy.