proverb · Words worth keeping
Truth is the club that knocks down and kills everybody.
Truth is the club that knocks down and kills everybody.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Truth is pictured as a heavy blow because unwelcome facts can unsettle people. The violent exaggeration invites care in speaking honestly, rather than treating honesty as permission to hurt.
What the words are saying
The club makes truth forceful enough to knock everyone down. Read that as exaggeration about the impact of unwelcome knowledge, not a description of literal violence or a reason to conceal every difficult fact. A useful response considers both what needs saying and how another person can hear it. Accuracy and care can belong together. The saying supplies no evidence that a harsh accusation is true merely because it hurts, and it does not make the speaker superior to those who receive the news.
Everyday example
A colleague explains an error plainly, offers the supporting details and gives the other person room to respond instead of announcing it as a humiliation.
When to use it
Use it to consider the manner and impact of delivering an unwelcome fact.
What it does not mean
A painful statement is not necessarily true; verify it and avoid using honesty as an excuse for cruelty.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 31; French section, paragraph 616; source wording: La vérité est la massue qui chacun assomme et tue.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.