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.
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Origin
La Palice's epitaph reads
"Ci-gît le Seigneur de La Palice: s'il n'était pas mort, il ferait encore envie." ("Here lies the Seigneur de La Palice: If he weren't dead, he would still be envied.")These words were misread (accidentally or intentionally) as "...il ſerait [serait] encore en vie" ("...he would still be alive"), 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" ("... that two days before his death / he was still quite alive") and "... et quand il était tout nu, / il n'avait point de chemise" ("... and when he was stark naked / he didn't wear a shirt").
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 lapalissade meaning an utterly obvious truth—i.e. a truism or tautology, and it was borrowed into several other languages.
Similar terms
In Spanish culture, an analog is a folkloric character Pedro Grullo (Perogrullo) with his perogrulladas: Verdad de Pedro Grullo, que a la mano cerrada, la llama puño" ( The truth of Pedro Grullo, when his hand is closed, he calls it a fist).
In English, other synonyms include "platitude" and "bromide". An English speaker might also reference "Captain Obvious" as having spoken a self-evident truth.