Lapalissade
A lapalissade is an obvious truth—i.e. a truism or tautology—which produces a comical effect. It is derived from the name Jacques de la Palice, and the word is used in several languages.
Origin
La Palice's epitaph reads:These words were misread as "...il ſerait encore en vie", where the long s aids in the confusion. In the 16th century this misreading was incorporated into a popular satirical song, and in time many other variants developed, including "... que deux jours avant sa mort / il était encore en vie" and "... et quand il était tout nu, / il n'avait point de chemise"
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In the early 18th century, Bernard de la Monnoye collected over 50 of these humorous "La Palice" quatrains and published them as a burlesque "Song of La Palice". From that song came the French term wikt:lapalissade meaning an utterly obvious truth—i.e. a truism or tautology, and it was borrowed into several other languages. The French phrase "La Palice en aurait dit autant!" is used to express that a statement is obvious.
Similar terms
In Spanish culture, an analog is a folkloric character with his perogrulladas: "Verdad de Pedro Grullo, que a la mano cerrada, la llama puño".In English, Captain Obvious indicates, somewhat pejoratively, that a speaker has said a self-evident truth. Other kinds of trite expressions are "platitude" and "bromide".
Examples
- Most drownings occur in the water.
- Most wars occur during wartime.
- 60 minutes feels like an hour.
- If we are an hour early, then we are 1 hour early.