phrase
You Can't Handle the Truth
A confrontational refusal — claiming the listener is too sheltered or naive to face what's actually going on.
Origin
Jack Nicholson's Colonel Jessup, cornered on the witness stand in A Few Good Men (1992), erupts at Tom Cruise's prosecutor: 'You want answers?' — 'I want the truth!' — 'You can't handle the truth!' The screenplay was Aaron Sorkin's, adapted from his own stage play. The American Film Institute ranks the line among the most quoted in American cinema.
Modern usage
Almost always camped — used to preempt an unwelcome opinion, defend a rant, or refuse to explain a decision. Real Jessup-style delivery is rare; the line is too theatrical to play straight.
Tags
confrontation
courtroom
truth