terse expression Quotes

To use many words to communicate few thoughts is everywhere the unmistakable sign of mediocrity. To gather much thought into few words stamps the man of genius.

If I could sum it up in 50 words, I wouldn't have needed to write a whole novel about it.

[S]ince brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief.

Lyrically, 'less words mean more' is a pretty good rule of thumb. Try to cut out the fat and get to the meat of what you're saying.

If a thing can be said in ten words, I may be relied upon to take a hundred to say it. I ought to apologize for that. I ought to prune, pare and extirpate excess growth, but I will not. I like words—strike that, I love words—and while I am fond of the condensed and economical use of them in poetry, in song lyrics, in Twitter, in good journalism and smart advertising, I love the luxuriant profusion and mad scatter of them too.

My father always said that too many words cheapened the value of a man's speech.

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

I think I'm succinct to the point of trying to write the two-word novel. Editing my work almost never means taking anything out but rather adding, because I'm always stripping down. I tend to under-write rather than over-write.

To say more while saying less is the secret of being simple.

I love the laconic. Clearly, I am not of their number.

I wish I could say everything in one word. I hate all the things that can happen between the beginning of a sentence and the end.