honesty is the best policy
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
It is always best to tell the truth
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Honesty is the best policy.Thật thà là thượng sách.
Tatoeba sentence #271679 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “honesty is the best policy” mean?
It is always best to tell the truth
Is “honesty is the best policy” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.