Only laughter can blow [a colossal humbug] to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Laughter can dismantle even the biggest pretensions; nothing can resist it.
- In plain terms
- Laughter defeats big lies.
- What can you take from it?
- Use humor to challenge falsehoods.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is humor most effective against misinformation?
- What are limits of satire?
Another view
Humor alone may not change deep‑seated beliefs.
More from Samuel Langhorne Clemens
There has never been a just one, never an honorable one -- on the part of the instigator of the war. I can see a million years ahead, and this rule will never …
Permalink to quote #109 A God who could make good children as easily as bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy…
Permalink to quote #111 He [Mark Twain] spoke of humor, and thought it must be one of the chief attributes of God. He cited plants and animals that were distinctly humorous in form an…
Permalink to quote #108
Related quotes
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 The politician is : trained in the art of inexactitude. His words tend to be blunt or rounded, because if they have a cutting edge they may later return to wou…
Edward R. MurrowEdward R. Murrow quote #8 Make the sure one laugh, was she in stone? She will melt.
Paul EluardPaul Eluard quote #9