--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth I do not dare to know I muffle…" description: "\"The truth I do not dare to know I muffle with a jest.\" — Emily Dickinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg" --- # The truth I do not dare to know I muffle with a jest. ![“The truth I do not dare to know I muffle with a jest.” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg) > “The truth I do not dare to know I muffle with a jest.” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One hides uncomfortable truths behind humor to avoid confronting them. **In simple terms:** Humor masks hidden truths. Key Takeaway Recognize when jokes hide deeper concerns. Themes truth humor avoidance Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal conversations - therapy sessions - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you avoiding? - Can humor ever reveal truth? A Different Perspective Humor can also be a healthy coping tool. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Liar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liar/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Why do we call it truth or dare when we all know it's really Who do you like or Awkward sexual task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pretty-ladii/why-do-we-call-it-truth-or-dare-when-we-all-know-it-s-really-who-do/) [Pretty Ladii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pretty-ladii/) > [“I will play Truth or Dare, you sucker, until you can't tell your truth from your dare. -CAROLINE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-clayton/i-will-play-truth-or-dare-you-sucker-until-you-can-t-tell-your-truth/) [Alice Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-clayton/) > [Lets play truth or dare! Oh wait we can only play dare, you dont know how to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lets-play-truth-or-dare-oh-wait-we-can-only-play-dare-you-dont-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not trying to counsel any of you to do anything really special except dare to think. And to dare to go with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/i-m-not-trying-to-counsel-any-of-you-to-do-anything-really-special/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [Don't you dare get to the top and not know what to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-casablancas/don-t-you-dare-get-to-the-top-and-not-know-what-to-do/) [Julian Casablancas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-casablancas/) > [There is but one coward on earth, and that is the coward that dare not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-but-one-coward-on-earth-and-that-is-the-coward-that-dare-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Dimidium facti qui coepit habet: sapere aude" ("He who has begun is half done: dare to know!").”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dimidium-facti-qui-coepit-habet-sapere-aude-he-who-has-begun-is-half/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Painters and poets alike have always had license to dare anything! We know that, and we both claim and allow to others in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/painters-and-poets-alike-have-always-had-license-to-dare-anything-we/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own intelligence!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/dare-to-know-have-the-courage-to-use-your-own-intelligence/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [We never know we go when we are going- We jest and shut the Door- Fate-following-behind us bolts it- And we accost no more-.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/we-never-know-we-go-when-we-are-going-we-jest-and-shut-the-door-fate/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [TRUTH or DARE should be renamed to INTERROGATION or HUMILIATION .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/truth-or-dare-should-be-renamed-to-interrogation-or-humiliation/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [“Jangan percayai apa yang orang katakan mengenai kamu, Alice. Not at all of them are true. - Julian, Truth or Dare”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winna-efendi/jangan-percayai-apa-yang-orang-katakan-mengenai-kamu-alice-not-at-all/) [Winna Efendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winna-efendi/) > [I speak the truth not so much as I would, but as much as I dare, and I dare a little more as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-speak-the-truth-not-so-much-as-i-would-but-as-much-as-i-dare-and-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Steven, my friend who came out to me my senior year, was a huge Madonna fan. So I may know all the words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/steven-my-friend-who-came-out-to-me-my-senior-year-was-a-huge-madonna/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [~Let's play Truth or Dare! Oh wait.. we can only play dare, you don't know how to tell the truth..~ Thankz Patience for letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-hardy/let-s-play-truth-or-dare-oh-wait-we-can-only-play-dare-you-don-t-know/) Patience Hardy ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One step at a time is all it takes to get you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-step-at-a-time-is-all-it-takes-to-get-you-there/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Whose fingers string the stalactite- Who counts the Wampum of the night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/whose-fingers-string-the-stalactite-who-counts-the-wampum-of-the-night/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My life closed twice before its close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-life-closed-twice-before-its-close/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/until-you-have-loved-you-cannot-become-yourself/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Explore all 692 Emily Dickinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More Dare quotes > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I should not dare to call my soul my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/i-should-not-dare-to-call-my-soul-my-own/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Nobody calls me a racist when I do redneck jokes. Jeff Foxworthy can do as many 'You might be a redneck jokes' as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/nobody-calls-me-a-racist-when-i-do-redneck-jokes-jeff-foxworthy-can/) [Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/) > [Dare to dream! Never underestimate the Power of Our Dream!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dare-to-dream-never-underestimate-the-power-of-our-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why stop now? Seduce me, Brian.I dare you." "I've always found it hard to turn aside a dare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/why-stop-now-seduce-me-brian-i-dare-you-i-ve-always-found-it-hard-to/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [This moment in which you experience stillness is every moment. Don't let the mind seduce you into the past or future. Stay in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/this-moment-in-which-you-experience-stillness-is-every-moment-don-t/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I tend to get reactions just by being on screen, because I guess I'm physically queer-coded or something. Especially with 'Star Wars;' I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/i-tend-to-get-reactions-just-by-being-on-screen-because-i-guess-i-m/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [Who would dare assign to art the sterile function of imitating nature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/who-would-dare-assign-to-art-the-sterile-function-of-imitating-nature/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God himself sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/the-privilege-of-prayer-to-me-is-one-of-the-most-cherished/) [Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/) > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [I drink, I huff, I strut, look big and stare; And all this I can do, because I dare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-villiers/i-drink-i-huff-i-strut-look-big-and-stare-and-all-this-i-can-do/) [Theresa Villiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-villiers/) Browse all 2,415 Dare quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The truth I do not dare to know I muffle with a jest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Dickinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle-with-a-jest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dare" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle-with-a-jest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/emily-dickinson-310_dare_the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle_2132561.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The truth I do not dare to know I muffle with a jest.” — Emily Dickinson", "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": "Emily Dickinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The truth I do not dare...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle-with-a-jest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-truth-i-do-not-dare-to-know-i-muffle-with-a-jest/#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 } } ] } ```