It appears word for word in Sowell’s Scripps-Howard newspaper column, printed in The Stuart News (Stuart, Florida) on 5 July 1985. The line sits in a list of “There are only two…” quips. Quote Investigator ↗ located the column and credits Sowell.
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In context
Evoking the world of Thomas Sowell — American economist & social theorist. Theme: "There are only two ways of telling the complete truth — anonymously and posthumously". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "There are only two ways of telling the complete truth — anonymously and posthumously". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
Where it comes from
Work
“Life is just a two-way street” (newspaper column, Scripps-Howard News Service)
Published
The Stuart News, Stuart, Florida — 5 July 1985, page A5
Author
Thomas Sowell
Located by
Quote Investigator, 9 October 2024
There are only two kinds of schools — those that keep up with the latest educational trends and those that teach.
There are only two ways of telling the complete truth — anonymously and posthumously.
There are only two kinds of gamblers — those who say they have lost more than they have won and those who lie about it.
Three consecutive items from the column
These are the three consecutive items Quote Investigator transcribes from Sowell’s July 1985 column. The column was a long list of quips and adages.
1985: Sowell’s syndicated column, printed in The Stuart News on 5 July, includes the line word for word (Quote Investigator ↗).
1986: Robert Byrne’s collection The Third and Possibly the Best 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said prints it credited to Thomas Sowell (QI ↗; the book at the Internet Archive ↗).
1996: Rosalie Maggio’s The New Beacon Book of Quotations by Women credits Susan Ohanian’s Ask Ms. Class with a reworded version: “two ways to tell the one hundred percent truth” (QI ↗).
2000:Random House Webster’s Wit & Humor Quotationary gives the original wording under Thomas Sowell (QI ↗).
The line was first published in Sowell’s 1985 syndicated newspaper column. Under US rules, a work by an identifiable living author first published in 1985 is still in copyright. Quoting a single sentence with attribution is the kind of short excerpt usually treated as fair use.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
The other names on it
The line is genuinely Sowell’s. Some quotation books and posts credit someone else, usually because of a later reworded version.
~
1996 quotation dictionarySusan Ohanian Later variant
Rosalie Maggio’s The New Beacon Book of Quotations by Women (1996) credits the U.S. teacher and writer’s Ask Ms. Class with “There are only two ways to tell the one hundred percent truth: anonymously and posthumously.” Quote Investigator ↗ concludes that Sowell’s 1985 statement keeps priority.
✕
1923 precursor ideaMrs. Waagen (Red Cross, quoted in Calgary) Related thought, not the quip
In 1923 The Morning Albertan quoted her as saying any book about her Red Cross experiences would “either be published anonymously or posthumously.” QI cites this as a related remark, not Sowell’s “two ways of telling the complete truth” formula (QI ↗).
✓Thomas Sowell published the line in his syndicated column, printed in The Stuart News on 5 July 1985 (Quote Investigator ↗).
Context
Why it matters
Sowell is one of the internet’s favorite names to hang a clever line on, so the default assumption should be fabrication. This one turns out to be real. The line was one entry in a column made up of quips and adages, and it sat between jokes about schools that “teach” and gamblers who “lie about it.” Quotation collectors picked it up within a year.
Sowell has had to disown fake material himself. In a 2008 column he wrote that “a whole column has been made up and circulated in a chain letter on the Internet” under his name, and that anyone can check his real columns (“An Internet Fraud,” Creators ↗).
There are only two kinds of gamblers — those who say they have lost more than they have won and those who lie about it.
About the Ohanian credit
The 1996 version credited to Susan Ohanian says “the one hundred percent truth” where Sowell said “the complete truth,” and it uses a colon instead of a dash. Quote Investigator calls it “a very similar remark” and dates it after Sowell’s column (QI ↗).
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Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Thomas Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 1930. He is an economist, economic historian and social theorist, and a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution since 1980. For decades his syndicated newspaper column was known for pithy one-liners, until he ended it in December 2016. That reputation is why so many clever lines, real and invented, get pinned on him.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Primary source (as documented by Quote Investigator)
Thomas Sowell, “Life is just a two-way street,” Scripps-Howard News Service column, The Stuart News (Stuart, FL), July 5, 1985, A5. Documented in Quote Investigator, “Quote Origin: There Are Only Two Ways of Telling the Complete Truth — Anonymously and Posthumously,” October 9, 2024.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘There are only two ways of telling the complete truth — anonymously and posthumously’?” Last verified 2 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/there-are-only-two-ways-of-telling-the-complete-truth/