Wit & Attitude Quote by Joey Adams

Adams’s line lands like a neat little switchblade: it flatters romance, then immediately warns you it’s a con. The first clause is streetwise and blunt - don’t hand intimacy to someone who’s going to misuse it. The second clause flips the blame inward - don’t let the warmth of a kiss rewrite your judgment. In ten words, he stages the oldest human mistake: confusing sensation for character.

As a comedian, Adams isn’t preaching purity; he’s mocking our talent for self-sabotage. “Never let a fool kiss you” sounds like a rule you’d hear from a tough friend at 2 a.m., half protective, half amused at the predictable mess you’re about to make. Then “or a kiss fool you” tightens the screw. The joke is that you can avoid fools and still be fooled, because desire is a competent liar. The kiss becomes a tiny propaganda campaign: it sells sincerity, stability, even destiny, while asking for no evidence.

The subtext is less about romance than about discernment. Adams is talking about the way charm launders bad decisions, how we outsource critical thinking to chemistry. It also carries mid-century nightclub cynicism: the world of fast connections, fast talkers, and the hangover of sentimentality. The wit works because it’s symmetrical and unforgiving - fool/kiss, kiss/fool - a verbal mirror that suggests the real danger isn’t just the idiot at your door, it’s the part of you eager to be persuaded.