--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who laughs last has not yet heard the…" description: "\"He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news.\" — Bertolt Brecht" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg" --- # He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news. ![“He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news.” quote by Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg) > “He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news.” [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A twist on the proverb: those who think they will win may be unaware of looming bad news. **In simple terms:** Laughing last doesn’t guarantee good news. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant even in apparent victory. Themes wisdom irony human nature Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - business negotiations - personal relationships - political campaigns Key Concepts unexpected outcomes cautionary tales Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate hidden problems? - How can one balance optimism with caution? A Different Perspective Optimism can blind to risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-news/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Heard Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-bad-1944011/) [Laughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughs/) [Laughs Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughs-heard-3796603/) ## Related quotes > [He who laughs has not yet heard the bad news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/he-who-laughs-has-not-yet-heard-the-bad-news/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Listening to his songs she heard nothing but bad news, still she made her mind up to try to get him win or lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waylon-jennings/listening-to-his-songs-she-heard-nothing-but-bad-news-still-she-made/) [Waylon Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waylon-jennings/) > [“With Ed, I always pushed away the good and only heard the bad. Today, I let in the good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/with-ed-i-always-pushed-away-the-good-and-only-heard-the-bad-today-i/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Heard you had a bad day, well let's make it a good night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/heard-you-had-a-bad-day-well-let-s-make-it-a-good-night/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [I heard of bad breath before but yours could knock a buzzard offf a shit wagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-heard-of-bad-breath-before-but-yours-could-knock-a-buzzard-offf-a/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Heard you had a bad day? Let's make it a good night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/heard-you-had-a-bad-day-let-s-make-it-a-good-night/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [I don't think you've ever heard anything bad about me, and I'd like to keep it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slim-whitman/i-don-t-think-you-ve-ever-heard-anything-bad-about-me-and-i-d-like-to/) [Slim Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slim-whitman/) > [The man who laughs has simply not yet had the terrible news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/the-man-who-laughs-has-simply-not-yet-had-the-terrible-news/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [My philosophy of life is that I am deeply, deeply serious about my work and for the rest I like to have a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggi-hambling/my-philosophy-of-life-is-that-i-am-deeply-deeply-serious-about-my/) [Maggi Hambling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggi-hambling/) > [I prefer to have one gigantic laugh preceded by several smaller laughs rather than a bunch of medium laughs all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shock/i-prefer-to-have-one-gigantic-laugh-preceded-by-several-smaller/) [Ron Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shock/) > [There's nothing wrong with making people laugh. We all need to laugh. Sometimes I get all these laughs inside of me, and there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-rae/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-making-people-laugh-we-all-need-to-laugh/) [Charlotte Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-rae/) > [“Because laughs never die away entirely,” said Jamie. “At least, if you believe in Marconi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/because-laughs-never-die-away-entirely-said-jamie-at-least-if-you/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > ['Johnny' was a coping mechanism who could take those things which could have ordinarily destroyed me, by tweaking my past and throwing it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-vegas/johnny-was-a-coping-mechanism-who-could-take-those-things-which-could/) [Johnny Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-vegas/) > [It isn't he who laughs last, but he whose laugh lasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/it-isn-t-he-who-laughs-last-but-he-whose-laugh-lasts/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [One night in a club in Boston, I tried the name Roger Duck. No laughs. The next night, I tried Orson Bean, putting together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/one-night-in-a-club-in-boston-i-tried-the-name-roger-duck-no-laughs/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) ## More by Bertolt Brecht > [Their peace and their war Are like wind and storm. War grows from their peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/their-peace-and-their-war-are-like-wind-and-storm-war-grows-from/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Boy Meets Girl, So What?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/boy-meets-girl-so-what/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Some party hack decreed that the people had lost the government's confidence and could only regain it with redoubled effort. If that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/some-party-hack-decreed-that-the-people-had-lost-the-government-s/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/art-is-not-a-mirror-held-up-to-reality-but-a-hammer-with-which-to/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [People remain what they are even if their faces fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/people-remain-what-they-are-even-if-their-faces-fall-apart/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Go make yourself a plan And be a shining light. Then make yourself a second plan, For neither will come right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/go-make-yourself-a-plan-and-be-a-shining-light-then-make-yourself-a/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Fearful is the seductive power of goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/fearful-is-the-seductive-power-of-goodness/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Hungry man, reach for the book: it is a weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/hungry-man-reach-for-the-book-it-is-a-weapon/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [There are some with brains and some without. It makes for a better division of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/there-are-some-with-brains-and-some-without-it-makes-for-a-better/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“When the sharks the sharks devour Little fishes have their hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/when-the-sharks-the-sharks-devour-little-fishes-have-their-hour/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“In my poetry a rhyme Would seem to me almost insolent. Inside me contend Delight at the apple tree in blossom And horror at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/in-my-poetry-a-rhyme-would-seem-to-me-almost-insolent-inside-me/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“The law was made for one thing alone,for the exploitation of those who don't understand it, or are prevented by naked misery from obeying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/the-law-was-made-for-one-thing-alone-for-the-exploitation-of-those/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [From the start it has been the theatre's business to entertain people ... it needs no other passport than fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/from-the-start-it-has-been-the-theatre-s-business-to-entertain-people/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Whenever there are great virtues, it's a sure sign something's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/whenever-there-are-great-virtues-it-s-a-sure-sign-something-s-wrong/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [First feed the face, then talk right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/first-feed-the-face-then-talk-right-and-wrong/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) [Explore all 260 Bertolt Brecht quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## More Bad news quotes > [In the wake of such bad news, it was heartening to know that what 'Sense8' stood for meant so much to so many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-smith/in-the-wake-of-such-bad-news-it-was-heartening-to-know-that-what/) [Brian J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-smith/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You never want to have to give your child bad news of any kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/you-never-want-to-have-to-give-your-child-bad-news-of-any-kind/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm utterly unsuited for bureaucracy. I don't know my passwords to anything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/if-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-about-me-it-s-that-i-m-utterly/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“The bad news is that, measured in terms of geologic time, if the Earth’s history is an accurate guide, glaciers will soon return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/the-bad-news-is-that-measured-in-terms-of-geologic-time-if-the-earth/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [I love an underdog. No, I don't necessarily mean the cartoon. I mean like David, as in Goliath, or the Bears, as in The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-lublin/i-love-an-underdog-no-i-don-t-necessarily-mean-the-cartoon-i-mean/) [Nancy Lublin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-lublin/) > [The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-good-news-is-that-economists-are-intelligent-engaging-and-often/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [For a long period of time, the media covered rap music and hip hop the same way they cover a lot of black people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/for-a-long-period-of-time-the-media-covered-rap-music-and-hip-hop-the/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [“Shifting from a superior/inferior paradigm to a strength-in-difference paradigm was kind of a good news/bad news situation. On the downside, I had to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/shifting-from-a-superior-inferior-paradigm-to-a-strength-in/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“The real secret, though, is that nobody belongs, whether they are natives or not. After expulsion from paradise all humans are in exile. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/the-real-secret-though-is-that-nobody-belongs-whether-they-are/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) [Browse all 691 Bad news quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-news/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bertolt Brecht" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the-bad-news/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad news" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the-bad-news/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/842/bertolt-brecht-1065_bad-news_he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the_1453372.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who laughs last has not yet heard the bad news.” — Bertolt Brecht", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bertolt Brecht", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who laughs last has not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the-bad-news/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/he-who-laughs-last-has-not-yet-heard-the-bad-news/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```