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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker suggests that their nature involves deception, yet they consistently tell the truth.
In plain terms
I am a liar, but I always tell the truth.
What can you take from it?
Truth can sometimes sound like a lie.

Where it applies

  • self-description
  • rhetorical device
  • explaining contradictions

Putting it to work

  • describe personal contradictions
  • highlight irony
  • explain skepticism

Questions to consider

  • Can a liar tell the truth?
  • Does identity define truth?

Another view

It relies on the listener understanding the irony.

More from Jean Cocteau

  1. A prig always finds a last refuge in responsibility.

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  2. The Louvre is like the morgue; one goes there to identify one's friends.

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  3. I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.

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