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About this quote

What does it mean?
Truth can be so unexpected or bold that it feels like a joke.
In plain terms
Telling the truth is the funniest joke because people expect lies.
What can you take from it?
Use truth as a form of humor.

Where it applies

  • debate
  • storytelling

Putting it to work

  • state facts plainly
  • expect reactions

Questions to consider

  • Why is truth funny?
  • What makes a joke work?

Another view

Truth can also be serious and painful rather than funny.

More from George Bernard Shaw

  1. What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering.

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  2. Home life as we understand it is no more natural to us than a cage is natural to a cockatoo.

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  3. You can't be a hero without being a coward. (Preface)

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