--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't cheat the public for long." description: "\"You can't cheat the public for long.\" — Tennessee Ernie Ford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg" --- # You can't cheat the public for long. ![“You can't cheat the public for long.” quote by Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg) > “You can't cheat the public for long.” [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deception may work briefly, but public scrutiny eventually uncovers it. **In simple terms:** Cheating the public is unsustainable. Key Takeaway Maintain honesty to avoid eventual exposure. Themes ethics trust public perception Mood cautionary serious Type business political When to use this quote - political campaigns - corporate marketing - media reporting - consumer relations Key Concepts integrity accountability reputation management Questions to Reflect On - What are the costs of being caught? - How can transparency build lasting trust? A Different Perspective Short‑term gains can cause long‑term damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ## Related quotes > [I would dare say that most anyone in public life, if they stay in public long enough, is not treated fairly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/i-would-dare-say-that-most-anyone-in-public-life-if-they-stay-in/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) > [I have been in public for a long time, so the camera was never an issue for me. I am very comfortable in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anoushka-shankar/i-have-been-in-public-for-a-long-time-so-the-camera-was-never-an/) [Anoushka Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anoushka-shankar/) > [That's when it becomes a business. When you've been public a long time, when it's a career. You do certain films, you sell them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/that-s-when-it-becomes-a-business-when-you-ve-been-public-a-long-time/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [O fools, awake! The rites ye sacred hold Are but a cheat contrived by men of old Who lusted after wealth and gained their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ma-arri/o-fools-awake-the-rites-ye-sacred-hold-are-but-a-cheat-contrived-by/) [Al-Maʿarri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ma-arri/) > [How many fools does it take to make up a public?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/how-many-fools-does-it-take-to-make-up-a-public/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Pro-lifers have long been castigated for bringing private values into the public square. But actually it is the pro-abortion position that is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/pro-lifers-have-long-been-castigated-for-bringing-private-values-into/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [Please God, please suh, don't let him love nobody else but me. Maybe Ah'm is uh fool, Lawd, lak dey say, but Lawd, Ah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/please-god-please-suh-don-t-let-him-love-nobody-else-but-me-maybe-ah/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“If love was a game, a lot of people would cheat to win, but little would play it the right way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gabryelle-dos-santos/if-love-was-a-game-a-lot-of-people-would-cheat-to-win-but-little/) Amanda gabryelle dos santos > [“Some people will lie, cheat, steal and back-stab to to get ahead...and to think, all they have to do is READ!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fortune/some-people-will-lie-cheat-steal-and-back-stab-to-to-get-ahead-and-to/) Fortune > [I hated myself totally white. So now I cheat. It's my white hair, and I put color there. My grandson says I'm punk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-hated-myself-totally-white-so-now-i-cheat-it-s-my-white-hair-and-i/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [“As they say in New York, Get over it and, if you can't get over it, Get over talking about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/as-they-say-in-new-york-get-over-it-and-if-you-can-t-get-over-it-get/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Even with cheat codes, you can't get on my level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-with-cheat-codes-you-can-t-get-on-my-level/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [I'm not a cheat. I'm not a diver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-young/i-m-not-a-cheat-i-m-not-a-diver/) [Ashley Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-young/) > [You can't cheat comedy. You know, it either is going to be there on the day you capture or it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lin/you-can-t-cheat-comedy-you-know-it-either-is-going-to-be-there-on-the/) [Justin Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lin/) ## More by Tennessee Ernie Ford > [Shot Gun Boogie, I wanted wedding bells. I'll be back little gal, when your pappy runs out of shells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/shot-gun-boogie-i-wanted-wedding-bells-i-ll-be-back-little-gal-when/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [Sixteen Tons was written eight years before I recorded it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/sixteen-tons-was-written-eight-years-before-i-recorded-it/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [Do you want to be successful? Nurture your talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/do-you-want-to-be-successful-nurture-your-talent/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [We decided to do some of Merle's things with modern instrumentation. We used a flute, a bass clarinet, a trumpet, a clarinet, drums, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/we-decided-to-do-some-of-merle-s-things-with-modern-instrumentation/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [Know yourself -- and know your audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/know-yourself-and-know-your-audience/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [If you see me coming, better step aside. A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/if-you-see-me-coming-better-step-aside-a-lotta-men-didn-t-a-lotta-men/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [You load sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/you-load-sixteen-tons-what-do-you-get-another-day-older-and-deeper-in/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [I tell you, I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rockers!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/i-tell-you-i-was-as-nervous-as-a-long-tailed-cat-in-a-roomful-of/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [I snapped my fingers all through it. Sometimes I set my own tempo during rehearsal by doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/i-snapped-my-fingers-all-through-it-sometimes-i-set-my-own-tempo/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [You can keep rummaging around until you find a song you like, but you can't predict whether it'll hit or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/you-can-keep-rummaging-around-until-you-find-a-song-you-like-but-you/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [When you do a show five days a week and one night a week, the way I was doing, you use up so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/when-you-do-a-show-five-days-a-week-and-one-night-a-week-the-way-i/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) [Explore all 12 Tennessee Ernie Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) ## More Cheat quotes > [You can't cheat comedy. You know, it either is going to be there on the day you capture or it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lin/you-can-t-cheat-comedy-you-know-it-either-is-going-to-be-there-on-the/) [Justin Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lin/) > [I'm not a cheat. I'm not a diver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-young/i-m-not-a-cheat-i-m-not-a-diver/) [Ashley Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-young/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Even with cheat codes, you can't get on my level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-with-cheat-codes-you-can-t-get-on-my-level/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As they say in New York, Get over it and, if you can't get over it, Get over talking about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/as-they-say-in-new-york-get-over-it-and-if-you-can-t-get-over-it-get/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I hated myself totally white. So now I cheat. It's my white hair, and I put color there. My grandson says I'm punk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-hated-myself-totally-white-so-now-i-cheat-it-s-my-white-hair-and-i/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [“Some people will lie, cheat, steal and back-stab to to get ahead...and to think, all they have to do is READ!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fortune/some-people-will-lie-cheat-steal-and-back-stab-to-to-get-ahead-and-to/) Fortune > [“If love was a game, a lot of people would cheat to win, but little would play it the right way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-gabryelle-dos-santos/if-love-was-a-game-a-lot-of-people-would-cheat-to-win-but-little/) Amanda gabryelle dos santos > [“Rock-Paper-Scissors for it.” “But you always cheat,” Blake whined. “And then you just punch me and growl that ‘rock beats face’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-adams/rock-paper-scissors-for-it-but-you-always-cheat-blake-whined-and-then/) [Kyle Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-adams/) > [“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [I dont play when it comes to being unfaithful. You cheat, you get no second chance & you lost the best thing that ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-play-when-it-comes-to-being-unfaithful-you-cheat-you-get-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/there-can-never-be-such-a-thing-as-a-free-market-because-it-is-human/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [People still cheat on their wives, that hasn't fallen out of fashion. We all speak of it badly, but it has not fallen out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/people-still-cheat-on-their-wives-that-hasn-t-fallen-out-of-fashion/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) Browse all 1,132 Cheat quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't cheat the public for long.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tennessee Ernie Ford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/tennessee-ernie-ford-36637_cheat_you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long-8785_878505.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't cheat the public for long.” — Tennessee Ernie Ford", "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": "Tennessee Ernie Ford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't cheat the public for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/you-can-t-cheat-the-public-for-long/#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 } } ] } ```