Tell the truth and shame the Devil (Shakespeare, Henry IV)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Honesty is the best policy, even if it's uncomfortable
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Trung thực là chính sách tốt nhất, dù không thoải mái
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: speaking truth to counter evil
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
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 “Tell the truth and shame the Devil (Shakespeare, Henry IV)” mean?
Honesty is the best policy, even if it's uncomfortable Literally: speaking truth to counter evil
Is “Tell the truth and shame the Devil (Shakespeare, Henry IV)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.