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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
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- English lemmas
- English proverbs
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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
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Source: Forrest Gump
Speaker: Forrest Gump
My mama always said, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
Context
This famous line is spoken by Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump (directed by Robert Zemeckis, 1994).
Hopefully you've never had to sit next to Forrest Gump on a bench: he'll talk your ear off for a good three hours, you'll miss your bus, and he'll offer you chocolates even though you have no idea where they came from.
Kids, don't take candy from strangers.
Also, Forrest doesn't even get his mama's quote exactly right. Mama (played by Sally Field) uses a metaphor, saying "Life is a box of chocolates." Forrest turns it into a simile by adding "like."
Looks like grammar is a box of chocolates with these two. You never know what figure of speech you're gonna get.
Where you've heard it
You hear this quote any time someone feels like dispensing fortune-cookie wisdom about the uncertainties of life, without any regard for the effect these chocolates are having on your teeth. Five out of five dentists disapprove of this quote.
We also think Pam's terrible impersonation of Forrest Gump on The Office is pretty funny.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
It's not pretentious, but it's just plain wrong. Seriously, what kind of chocolates are Forrest and his mama buying if they don't know what's in them? Don't they know you can flip over the lid and see what's inside each one?