--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can fake intelligence, but you can't…" description: "\"You can fake intelligence, but you can't fake wit.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg" --- # You can fake intelligence, but you can't fake wit. ![“You can fake intelligence, but you can't fake wit.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg) > “You can fake intelligence, but you can't fake wit.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wit is genuine cleverness that cannot be pretended; intelligence can be simulated, but true wit is authentic. **In simple terms:** Wit can't be faked. Key Takeaway Value authentic humor. Themes humor authenticity intelligence Mood playful witty Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - social interactions Key Concepts philosophy social perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine wit from forced cleverness? - Can you recognize wit in others? A Different Perspective Wit may be misunderstood as arrogance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [ I hopes the candidate \[Donald Trump\] is given fake intelligence briefings ... because you can't trust him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/i-hopes-the-candidate-donald-trump-is-given-fake-intelligence/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [Not to sound corny, but intelligence is big. Everything fades, and everything can be modified. But intelligence is something you cant fake. Im not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/not-to-sound-corny-but-intelligence-is-big-everything-fades-and-2/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [Those are the murderers of art who are sitting on the top wearing crowns of fake intelligence. Let me bring them down with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-aulakh/those-are-the-murderers-of-art-who-are-sitting-on-the-top-wearing/) [Jeet Aulakh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-aulakh/) > [Not to sound corny, but intelligence is big. Everything fades, and everything can be modified. But intelligence is something you can't fake. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/not-to-sound-corny-but-intelligence-is-big-everything-fades-and/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-refuse-to-have-a-battle-of-wits-with-an-unarmed-man/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/quotation-is-a-serviceable-substitute-for-wit/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The security of Society lies in custom and unconscious instinct, and the basis of the stability of Society, as a healthy organism, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-security-of-society-lies-in-custom-and-unconscious-instinct-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Conflict acting on intelligence creates imagination. Faced with conflict, creatures are forced to imagine what will happen, where the next threat will come from.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/conflict-acting-on-intelligence-creates-imagination-faced-with/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [“I’ll admit, Jasnah, that I empathize with your skepticism, but I don’t agree with it. I just think you've been looking for God in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-ll-admit-jasnah-that-i-empathize-with-your-skepticism-but-i-don-t/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/humor-is-consistent-with-pathos-whilst-wit-is-not/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Life is a battle of wits, and many people have to fight it unarmed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/life-is-a-battle-of-wits-and-many-people-have-to-fight-it-unarmed/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Fake quotes > [I am very sad that some designers are still using real fur when the fake alternatives are so effective and so easily obtainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-am-very-sad-that-some-designers-are-still-using-real-fur-when-the/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [Seems like EVERYONE complains about fake people, so if everyone is being let down, has anyone stopped to think who really is doing it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seems-like-everyone-complains-about-fake-people-so-if-everyone-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [LIFE is full of fake people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/icold/life-is-full-of-fake-people/) ICold > [“Fake things can't really happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-munsch/fake-things-can-t-really-happen/) [Robert Munsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-munsch/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [You can't even tell, but a lot of the time your favourite rappers are wearing a bunch of fake jewellery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/you-can-t-even-tell-but-a-lot-of-the-time-your-favourite-rappers-are/) [Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/) > [If I'm going to make a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/if-i-m-going-to-make-a-fake-movie-it-s-going-to-be-a-fake-hit/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [My heart?gone my life? ruined my smile? fake who did this? you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-winkles/my-heart-gone-my-life-ruined-my-smile-fake-who-did-this-you/) Kristian Winkles > [I know a lot of people that have had fake Twitters... actors and musicians that I know. It's sort of a problem. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-know-a-lot-of-people-that-have-had-fake-twitters-actors-and/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Fuck fake friends!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fuck-fake-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Some people wake & bake, while others wake & fake~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deangelo-stokes/some-people-wake-bake-while-others-wake-fake/) [DeAngelo Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deangelo-stokes/) > [You can't find any true closeness in Hollywood, because everybody does the fake closeness so well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/you-can-t-find-any-true-closeness-in-hollywood-because-everybody-does/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) Browse all 3,008 Fake quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can fake intelligence, but you can't fake wit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t-fake-wit/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fake" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t-fake-wit/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc2/oscar-wilde-16_fake_you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t_2115605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can fake intelligence, but you can't fake wit.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can fake intelligence, but you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t-fake-wit/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-can-fake-intelligence-but-you-can-t-fake-wit/#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 } } ] } ```