trust no one
Keep secrets closely
Trust no one is a warning or personal philosophy expressing extreme caution about placing confidence in others.
It suggests that anyone—friends, authorities, allies—might betray you or have hidden motives.
The phrase gained cultural currency through conspiracy fiction and espionage thrillers: The informant's only advice was trust no one.
Often used half-ironically to express general wariness rather than literal paranoia.
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
- deep stateCovert governmental power structure
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
- secrecyPractice of hiding information
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
betrayal · deception · loner · watchful · guarded · keep your distance · skeptic · cynical · doubt · wary · isolated · shadows · whispers · lies · hidden agenda · hidden · agenda · backstab
- proverbsproverbs, sayings, maxims, adages, aphorisms
- security principlesdefense in depth, need to know, confidentiality, availability, data integrity
trust, trusting, trusted, trusty, trustee, trusteeship, trustful, trustworthy, trustworthiness