Context

Machiavelli said a lot of things (hello, "It is better to be feared than loved"), but he never said "the end justifies the means."

People love to put these words into Nick's mouth, but the closest he came was probably the quote above. Sure, the sentiment is similar, but the idea certainly wasn't Machiavelli's. Consequentialism—the idea that the consequences of any actions are the most important part—was around way before Renaissance Italy; it's just that Machiavelli's bad-boy attitude won him the misattribution of the idea.

Where you've heard it

You've heard it everywhere.

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.

Unless you're claiming that Machiavelli said it, this one's pretty low on the pretentious scale.