Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Genuine wit originates from honesty and factual accuracy.
In plain terms
Real humor comes from being truthful.
What can you take from it?
Truth is the foundation of cleverness.

Where it applies

  • writing
  • conversations
  • speeches

Putting it to work

  • be honest in jokes
  • fact check claims
  • value sincerity

Questions to consider

  • Is humor effective without truth?
  • How does honesty improve your wit?

Another view

Sometimes lies can seem witty temporarily.

More from George Meredith

  1. What a woman thinks of women is the test of her nature.

    Permalink to quote #41
  2. Ireland gives England her soldiers, her generals too.

    Permalink to quote #43
  3. A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power.

    Permalink to quote #40

Related quotes

  1. My method is to take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then to say it with the utmost levity.

    George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw quote #2
  2. There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.

    Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker quote #15
  3. One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.

    Jane AustenJane Austen quote #25