Tell the truth or trump—but get the trick.

The line uses the language of trick-taking card games to frame a wry, pragmatic ethic: in competitive situations, moral ideals (“tell the truth”) may be treated as just one possible play, interchangeable with a purely strategic move (“trump”), so long as the outcome is secured (“get the trick”). Attributed to Twain, it reads like a satirical jab at opportunism—how people justify questionable tactics by focusing on winning rather than on principle. The humor comes from collapsing ethical choice into game mechanics, implying that many social and political actors treat honesty as optional when victory is at stake.