[Ads-l] Proverb Origin: If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, Any Road Will Take You There

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Back on March 2, 2026 Jonathan Lighter posted several excellent
citations for the proverb in the subject line. This inspired me to
move forward with a long-delayed QI article.

I think the proverb evolved from a brief dialogue between Alice and
the Cheshire cat in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Here is an
overview with dates showing a sampling of the variety of expressions
and attributions:

1865: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to" "I don't
much care where — " "Then it doesn't matter which way you walk" (Lewis
Carroll)

1900 Jul: "That depends a good deal where you want to get to" "I don't
much care — " "Then it doesn't matter which way you go" (Attributed to
Lewis Carroll)

1910 Dec: If you don't care where you are going, it can not matter
much which way you go (Attributed to a Caterpillar character)

1913 Dec: It doesn't matter which way you go, if you don't much care
where you are going to (Attributed to the Cheshire cat of Lewis
Carroll)

1941 Oct: When a man does not know where he is going, any road will
take him to his destination (Harry S. Albert)

1941 Dec: When a man does not know where he is going, any road will
take him to his destination (Attributed to Algo Henderson)

1942 Apr: If one does not know where he is going, any road will take
him there (Manmatha Nath Chatterjee)

1942 Jun: If you don't know where you are headed, any road will lead
to your destination (Attributed to Anonymous)

1944 Oct: If you do not know where you are going, any road will get
you there (Labeled an Oriental Proverb by R. Elizabeth Jones)

1945 Jun: If you do not know where you are going any road will take
you there (Labeled an Ancient Saying by Manmatha Nath Chatterjee)

1958 Apr: If you don't know where you are going, any road will take
you there (Attributed to the Talmud by Daniel Bell)

1960 Jul: Unless he knows where he is going, any road will take him
there (Theodore Levitt)

1969: If you don't know where you're going, any road will do
(Attributed to Anonymous by John Argenti)

1977: Unless you know where you are going, any road will take you
there (Attributed to Theodore Levitt)

1980: If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you
there (Attributed to Chips Bohlen by Henry Kissinger)

1990: If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you
there (Attributed to the Talmud by Martin Gardner)

2002: If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you
there (George Harrison)

[Begin acknowledgement]
Great thanks to Mark Burstein, Susan Fitzgerald, and Keith Inman whose
inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this
exploration. Thanks to Peter Morris who found the important 1910
citation. Many thanks to "The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs" compiled
by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro which
contains a helpful entry for this proverb which begins with a 1942
citation. Also, thanks to Jonathan Lighter who explored this topic and
located several valuable citations. In addition, thanks to Nigel Rees
who mentioned the George Harrison song "Any Road" in his April 2021
newsletter.
[End acknowledgement]

Here is a link to the QI article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/03/11/any-road/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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