A French Aphorism in English

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Wikipedia

As Charles Maurice de Talleyrand famously said once:

A diplomat who says "yes" means "maybe," a diplomat who says "maybe" means "no," and a diplomat who says "no" is not a diplomat.

Fair enough, but I would have rendered the English version as slightly different:

A diplomat who says "yes" means "maybe," a diplomat who says "maybe" means "no," and a diplomat who says "no" is no diplomat.

This small shortening wouldn't trouble anyone, now, would it? Brevity, after all is the sole art of wit.