ProverbCommunicationAmerican origin1907

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt

Meaning: Staying quiet is often wiser than speaking and confirming your ignorance.

Origin: Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain, but the earliest known version is in Maurice Switzer's humor book Mrs. Goose, Her Book (1907): "It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it." The idea itself is biblical: Proverbs 17:28 says that even a fool who holds his peace is counted wise.

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