Freud is supposed to have said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar", but where and when? Does anyone know where Freud actually said this, or is it just an urban legend?

I've never seen a citation given. It's always just attributed to Freud. He probably said it in German if he said it at all, and it seems in keeping with his sense of humor: "Manchmal ist eine Zigarre eben nur eine Zigarre."

I looked on the Net, neveu, at specific sites that talk about that quote and wasn't able to find the citation. Interesting question. I will ask around.

Perhaps one of you who reads Snopes could post the question there? Maybe it has been asked before, in fact.

I asked my logophile friend about this quote. He has some knowledge in psychiatry and says it doesn't sound like Freud to him, but he admits to having no adoration for Sigmund ("Penis envy and all that crap." were his words )

He wondered if it was a corruption of a Kipling quote:

"A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke." Rudyard Kipling, from The Betrothed.

I have no idea.