Precise Expression Quotes

a problem well put is half solved.

He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most explicit and direct manner. He tries to compress as much thought as possible into a few words. On the contrary, the man who talks everlastingly and promiscuously, who seems to have an exhaustless magazine of sound, crowds so many words into his thoughts that he always obscures, and very frequently conceals them.

I do not think of literature as something confessional or therapeutic. I make sentences in order to be precise about experiences and things. I am urged by many things and no things in particular.

Communication is not about speaking what we think. Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean.

I love the right words. I think economy and precision of language are important.

He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most explicit and direct manner.

Don't write so that you can be understood, write so that you can't be misunderstood.

You've got to guard against speaking more clearly than you think.

Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn't mean anything else.

The niftiest turn of phrase, the most elegant flight of rhetorical fancy, isn't worth beans next to a clear thought clearly expressed.

There is a tendency to underestimate the power of what we can do without words. Sometimes you can make a scene even more powerful and precise without dialogue.

The use of the right word, the exact word, is the difference between a pencil with a sharp point and a thick crayon.

Mathematics is pure language - the language of science. It is unique among languages in its ability to provide precise expression for every thought or concept that can be formulated in its terms.

Attention is like a narrow mouthed vessel; pour into it what you have to say cautiously, and, as it were, drop by drop.

Clarity of communication is important.

In any language it is a struggle to make a sentence say exactly what you mean.

It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression.

The right word fitly spoken is a precious rarity.

Never should an unfamiliar word be passed over without elucidation, for, with a little conscientious research, we may each day add to our conquests in the realm of philology and become more and more ready for graceful independent expression.

I like playing around with the words; I love it when I feel like I've picked the exact right word to describe whatever it is I'm trying to describe.

Your eloquence should be the servant of the ideas in your head. Your rule might be this: If a sentence, no matter how excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, scratch it out.

You must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.

To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement.

A parsimony of words prodigal of sense.