… there’s a fine, fine line between what you wanted and what you got. (from this song)
There’s a story I tell my students: If you have a big pot of hot water, and accidentally trip and spill it on your best friend… most likely your friend will have forgiven you before your first “sorry” bursts out. On the other hand, if you have a tall glass of cool water and accidentally trip and spill it on an enemy, you can bet they’ll work really hard at ripping you a new one and won’t stop until they are satisfied.
So a jerk and a clown, in my opinion, differ only in whether the person observing finds them to be cute and darling, or worthy of being squashed by a flyswatter. The song is not completely relevant, but I couldn’t resist the allusion using that one line.