"A half truth, like half a brick, is always more forcible as an argument than a whole one. It carries better"
About this Quote
Leacock lands the joke with a bruise. A “half truth” isn’t merely incomplete; it’s weaponized. The brick metaphor turns argument into street-level physics: persuasion as impact, not illumination. A whole truth is bulky, nuanced, harder to throw without losing your grip. Half a brick fits the hand. Half a truth fits a headline.
The intent is satirical, but not airy. Leacock is diagnosing a perennial incentive structure: public debate rewards what can be launched quickly and cleanly. The subtext is that people don’t necessarily crave accuracy; they crave a story that lands. Half truths carry because they’re lighter on context, heavier on certainty. They travel well through conversation, newspapers, stump speeches - anywhere complexity would slow the delivery.
Context matters here: Leacock, an economist writing in an age of mass circulation journalism and rising political spectacle, understood how “argument” often means winning rather than reasoning. Economics itself is a field especially vulnerable to brick-throwing: selective statistics, one-variable explanations, moralized narratives of who deserves what. His line anticipates modern information ecosystems where the most shareable claim is rarely the most complete one.
The deeper cynicism is aimed at the audience as much as the speaker. A half truth “carries better” because listeners help carry it; they supply the missing half with their own biases. The joke stings because it’s true: the most effective arguments are often designed not to be right, but to be throwable.
The intent is satirical, but not airy. Leacock is diagnosing a perennial incentive structure: public debate rewards what can be launched quickly and cleanly. The subtext is that people don’t necessarily crave accuracy; they crave a story that lands. Half truths carry because they’re lighter on context, heavier on certainty. They travel well through conversation, newspapers, stump speeches - anywhere complexity would slow the delivery.
Context matters here: Leacock, an economist writing in an age of mass circulation journalism and rising political spectacle, understood how “argument” often means winning rather than reasoning. Economics itself is a field especially vulnerable to brick-throwing: selective statistics, one-variable explanations, moralized narratives of who deserves what. His line anticipates modern information ecosystems where the most shareable claim is rarely the most complete one.
The deeper cynicism is aimed at the audience as much as the speaker. A half truth “carries better” because listeners help carry it; they supply the missing half with their own biases. The joke stings because it’s true: the most effective arguments are often designed not to be right, but to be throwable.
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| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
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