Talk:accidents will happen in the best regulated families

RFV discussion: September–October 2017

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accidents will happen in the best regulated families

Is this for real ? Leasnam (talk) 03:34, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Yes. From a Charles Dickens book. --TNMPChannel (talk) 03:36, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Just because it appears in one book doesn't mean that it's an established proverb. It just appears to be a sentence that Dickens composed. Please follow WT:ATTEST, which requires "use in permanently recorded media, conveying meaning, in at least three independent instances spanning at least a year", and does not include mere appearances in dictionaries. Thanks. — SGconlaw (talk) 03:40, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Another source is added. This time from a leading university. --TNMPChannel (talk) 03:54, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Right. I'm requesting verification that this is a proverb. Leasnam (talk) 03:55, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Cited. Third source added. --TNMPChannel (talk) 04:05, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Surely the original Dickens passage does not count as a citation? —suzukaze (t・c) 04:14, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Only the 1995 passage has the exact wording "accidents will happen in the best regulated families". The 1987 passage has "can" instead of "will". — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 05:43, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Is there any way we can test whether this is actually a proverb and not just a quote from David Copperfield? —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 09:38, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Some occurrences on Google Books predate it: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Lingo Bingo Dingo (talk) 12:42, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

• Several books of proverbs in this straightforward Google Books search contain it, suggesting that it was been considered a proverb. I don't know how use alone would indicate that it was a proverb. As soon a speaker refers to it as a proverb, we seem to have a mention, strictly speaking. DCDuring (talk) 15:09, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Some of the proverbs books associate accidents will happen with this expression. DCDuring (talk) 15:12, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 22:06, 15 October 2017 (UTC)