Self-Deprecating Quote
A line in which the speaker jokes at their own expense to disarm the listener.
A self-deprecating quote lowers the speaker on purpose. The move buys goodwill: an audience that has just heard you mock yourself is less inclined to mock you, and more inclined to listen.
The technique is close to the classical figure of self-diminishment used by speakers who wanted to seem modest before making a strong argument. Comedians, politicians and after-dinner speakers still open this way for the same reason — it converts potential resentment into laughter.
The quote only lands when the flaw named is real but survivable. Mocking a genuine failure reads as honesty; mocking something the audience knows to be false reads as fishing for compliments.
Common mistake: stacking several self-deprecating lines in a row. One establishes humility; three make the audience believe you.
“I have never been a millionaire, but I know I would be just darling at it.”
Keep reading the glossary
A clever, often spontaneous remark that delivers humour through verbal ingenuity.
A quotation in which the speaker openly claims greatness for themselves.
A gap between what is said and what is meant — or between expectation and outcome.
A figure of speech that deliberately says less than the situation warrants, for emphasis, irony, or dry humour.