--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is better to be an honest fool than…" description: "\"“It is better to be an honest fool than only a fool.”\" — Digger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg" --- # It is better to be an honest fool than only a fool. ![“It is better to be an honest fool than only a fool.” quote by Digger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg) > ““It is better to be an honest fool than only a fool.”” [Digger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/digger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being an honest fool is preferable to being a clever but deceitful fool. **In simple terms:** Honesty is better than cleverness when both are foolish. Key Takeaway Choose honesty over pretended wisdom. Themes honesty integrity humility wisdom self-awareness Mood reflective thoughtful philosophical Type Fool:0 Honest:1 Truth:0 Fool Fool:0 Better Honest:0 Honest Fool:1 When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - self-improvement - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical behavior personal growth authenticity critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - Is it worth risking credibility for honesty? - How does honesty shape personal integrity? A Different Perspective Being honest may expose you to ridicule or exploitation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-honest-1079978/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-fool/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-fool-1687095/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [But once a fool always a fool, and the greater the power in his hands the more disastrous is likely to be the use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-frazer/but-once-a-fool-always-a-fool-and-the-greater-the-power-in-his-hands/) [James G. Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-frazer/) > [Never underestimate a girl's ability to find things out. It is always better to be honest because whatever you did, she will find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-underestimate-a-girl-s-ability-to-find-things-out-it-is-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ordinary fools are all right; you can talk to them, and try to help them out. But pompous fools-guys who are fools and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ordinary-fools-are-all-right-you-can-talk-to-them-and-try-to-help/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You will see the fool in others. But if you're honest, you may also see the fool in yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/egbearor-favour/you-will-see-the-fool-in-others-but-if-you-re-honest-you-may-also-see/) [Egbearor Favour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/egbearor-favour/) > [An ordinary fool isn't a faker; an honest fool is all right. But a dishonest fool is terrible!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/an-ordinary-fool-isn-t-a-faker-an-honest-fool-is-all-right-but-a/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [It’s better to be sworn to an honest fool than to a lying scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/it-s-better-to-be-sworn-to-an-honest-fool-than-to-a-lying-scholar/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [Some concepts are so incredibly risky they take an honest fool to try to articulate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/some-concepts-are-so-incredibly-risky-they-take-an-honest-fool-to-try/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Pompous fools drive me up the wall. Ordinary fools are alright; you can talk to them and try to help them out. But pompous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/pompous-fools-drive-me-up-the-wall-ordinary-fools-are-alright-you-can/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/be-wise-with-speed-a-fool-at-forty-is-a-fool-indeed/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [A fool, a fool! I met a fool i' th' forest, A motley fool! a miserable world! As I do live by food, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-fool-a-fool-i-met-a-fool-i-th-forest-a-motley-fool-a-miserable/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The fool who thinks he is wise is just a fool. The fool who knows he is a fool is wise indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-fool-who-thinks-he-is-wise-is-just-a-fool-the-fool-who-knows-he/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I take it, no fool ever made a bargain for his soul with the devil; the fool is too much of a fool, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-take-it-no-fool-ever-made-a-bargain-for-his-soul-with-the-devil-the/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He who mocks the fool, Is no less a fool himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahj-wilson/he-who-mocks-the-fool-is-no-less-a-fool-himself/) [Tahj Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahj-wilson/) > [“But isn’t it better to be honest about these things before someone else can use them against you? Before someone else can break your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/but-isn-t-it-better-to-be-honest-about-these-things-before-someone/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [It was better to be honest than to give people false hope, even if it hurts them, it was for their good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/it-was-better-to-be-honest-than-to-give-people-false-hope-even-if-it/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) ## More Fool quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/) [Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [A fool and his money get a lot of publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-bernstein/a-fool-and-his-money-get-a-lot-of-publicity/) [Al Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-bernstein/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/) [WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'd be a fool to be in this for the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/i-d-be-a-fool-to-be-in-this-for-the-money/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 5,535 Fool quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is better to be an honest fool than only a fool.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Digger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/digger/it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-only-a-fool/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fool" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/digger/it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-only-a-fool/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/digger-232901_fool_it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-o_2663362.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is better to be an honest fool than only a fool.” — Digger", "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": "Digger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/digger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is better to be an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/digger/it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-only-a-fool/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/digger/it-is-better-to-be-an-honest-fool-than-only-a-fool/#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 } } ] } ```