[Ads-l] A clock that stands still is sure to point right once in twelve hours

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Here are the two versions of a well-known adage. A trace request was sent to me.
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Even a broken clock gets to be right twice a day.

The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs (DMP) has this saying
Even a stopped (broken) clock is right twice a day (sometimes).

DMP placed the saying in the Appendix: Some No Longer "Modern"
Proverbs. This meant that the saying had been pushed back to 1899 or
earlier.

Has someone else already examined this saying? It would be nice to
have some benchmarks, and to save some effort. Anything before 1711?
The results below are from a quick preliminary search to look for
variants. The dates are from GB and haven't been verified yet.

1711: a clock that stands still is sure to point right once in twelve hours

1809: The clock that stands still, and points resolutely in one
direction, is certain of being right twice in the four and twenty
hours--while others may keep going continually, and continually be
going wrong.

1877: everybody is like the clock which never goes, yet is certain to
be right twice a day

1880: Even a stopped clock is right, we know, twice in the twenty-four hours

1892 Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
The Quotable Woman cites Maria von Ebner Eschenbach, The Two Countesses

Garson

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