“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” is from John 8:32 of the New Testament. However, telling the absolute truth in the workplace is not always the best idea to advance one’s career. “One thing’s sure: tell the boss what you really think of him and the truth shall set you free” is a joke that has been cited in print since at least March 1972.
John 8:32
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
International Standard Version (©2008)
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
26 March 1972, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), pg. SM30:
One thing’s sure: tell the boss what you really think of him and the truth shall set you free.
Google Books
6 October 1972, Spartanburg (SC) Herald, pg. A12, col. 3 ad:
Tell your Boss what you think of him and the truth will set you free.
(Grier & Company—ed.)
Google News Archive
7 December 1973, The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA) pg. 4, col. 4:
Frankness
Tell the boss what you really think of him— and the truth shall set you free. (Railway Clerk)
Google News Archive
23 September 1975, Daily Union Democrat (Sonora, CA), pg. 6, col. 8:
Tell the boss what you think of him and the truth shall set you free.
(Sonora U-Save Liquors—ed.)
Google Books
The Comic Encyclopedia:
A library of the literature and history of humor containing thousands of gags, sayings, and stories
By Evan Esar
Garden City, NY: Doubleday
1978
Pg. 393:
Tell the boss what you really think of him — and the truth shall set you free.
15 October 1998, New York (NY) Post, “Strictly for Laughs” by Joey Adams, pg. 104:
The Bible says it all: Tell the boss what you think of him—and the truth will set you free.
Google Books
The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
By Robert Byrne
New York, NY: Fireside
2003
2,184
Tell your boss what you think of him, and the truth shall set you free. —Unknown
Biblos
23 September 2003, Reno (NV) Gazette-Journal, “Business Matters” by Brad Bottoset, pg. D3:
“Tell your boss what you really think about him and the truth shall set you free.”
Google Books
Great Funny Quotes
By David Young
Round Rock,TX: Wind Runner Press
2011
Pg. 38:
Tell your boss what you think of him, and the truth shall set you free.—Anonymous
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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