--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I told him I'd always found the…" description: "\"“I told him I'd always found the description a little too long on adjectives and a little too short on specifics.”\" — Amor Towles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png" --- # I told him I'd always found the description a little too… ![“I told him I'd always found the description a little too long on adjectives and a little too short on specifics.” quote by Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png) > ““I told him I'd always found the description a little too long on adjectives and a little too short on specifics.”” [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing detail and brevity is key to clear communication. **In simple terms:** Too much detail or too little can hinder understanding. Key Takeaway Aim for concise, specific descriptions. Themes writing communication clarity literature Mood reflective analytical Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - editing - teaching - storytelling Key Concepts detail brevity precision Questions to Reflect On - When should you expand details? - How to decide what specifics matter? A Different Perspective Over‑editing can strip essential nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [People have only two or three adjectives to describe people in the public eye. And that's okay. 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Sometimes it's also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bipasha-basu/i-have-been-called-bongshell-the-day-i-stepped-into-showbiz-so-any/) [Bipasha Basu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bipasha-basu/) > [Purity of action guided Janis's behavior. If she was going to be good, she was very, very good. If she was going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/purity-of-action-guided-janis-s-behavior-if-she-was-going-to-be-good/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English―it is the modern way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-notice-that-you-use-plain-simple-language-short-words-and-brief/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Whatever you want to say, there is only one word to express it, only one verb to give it movement, only one adjective to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/whatever-you-want-to-say-there-is-only-one-word-to-express-it-only/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceived of magic that would make heavy things light and able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-mind-that-thought-of-light-heavy-grey-yellow-still-swift-also/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [I will give you my definition of a nation, and you can add the adjective 'Jewish.' A Nation is, in my mind, an historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-herzl/i-will-give-you-my-definition-of-a-nation-and-you-can-add-the/) [Theodor Herzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-herzl/) > [Eschew all those beastly adjectives...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/eschew-all-those-beastly-adjectives/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [But what is memory if not the language of feeling, a dictionary of faces and days and smells which repeat themselves like the verbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/but-what-is-memory-if-not-the-language-of-feeling-a-dictionary-of/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [In my opinion, using different kinds of epithets and adjectives in connection with the word democracy is a sign of mere hypocrisy, to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/in-my-opinion-using-different-kinds-of-epithets-and-adjectives-in/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [In the history of the concept of number has been adjective (three cows, three monads) and noun (three, pure and simple), and now ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mazur/in-the-history-of-the-concept-of-number-has-been-adjective-three-cows/) [Barry Mazur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mazur/) > [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words… Whoever writes English is involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-write-or-even-speak-english-is-not-a-science-but-an-art-there-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Amor Towles > [“To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course- that's by the grace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/to-have-even-one-year-when-you-re-presented-with-choices-that-can/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Rather than sitting in orderly rows in a schoolhouse, wouldn't one be better served by working her way towards an actual horizon, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/rather-than-sitting-in-orderly-rows-in-a-schoolhouse-wouldn-t-one-be/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mostly, he said, I've been thinking about what I'm not going to do. When I think of the last few years, I've been hounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mostly-he-said-i-ve-been-thinking-about-what-i-m-not-going-to-do-when/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“In the doleful court behind my building a patchwork of windows was all that separated me from a hundred muted lives being led without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/in-the-doleful-court-behind-my-building-a-patchwork-of-windows-was/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“That is how time passes when one is left waiting unaccountably. The hours become interminable. The minutes relentless. And the seconds? Why, not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-is-how-time-passes-when-one-is-left-waiting-unaccountably-the/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mishka would pine for Katerina the rest of his life! Never again would he walk Nevsky Prospekt, however they chose to rename it, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mishka-would-pine-for-katerina-the-rest-of-his-life-never-again-would/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [Every year, I would spend weeks at a time in the hotels of distant cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/every-year-i-would-spend-weeks-at-a-time-in-the-hotels-of-distant/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For eventually, we come to hold our dearest possessions more closely than we hold our friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-eventually-we-come-to-hold-our-dearest-possessions-more-closely/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“As we age, we are bound to find comfort from the notion that it takes generations for a way of life to fade. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-the-role-of-the-parent-to-express-his-concerns-and-then/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“But I've come to realie that however blue my circumstance,s if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/but-i-ve-come-to-realie-that-however-blue-my-circumstance-s-if-after/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-make-extensive-outlines-before-i-write-a-book-i-usually-know-what/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Sometimes,” Nina clarified, “everybody tells you something because they are everybody. But why should one listen to everybody? Did everybody write the Odyssey? Did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/sometimes-nina-clarified-everybody-tells-you-something-because-they/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is a fact that a man can be profoundly out of step with his times. A man may have been born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-a-fact-that-a-man-can-be-profoundly-out-of-step-with-his/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) [Explore all 266 Amor Towles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## More Adjectives quotes > [To write or even speak English is not a science but an art. There are no reliable words… Whoever writes English is involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-write-or-even-speak-english-is-not-a-science-but-an-art-there-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [In the history of the concept of number has been adjective (three cows, three monads) and noun (three, pure and simple), and now ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mazur/in-the-history-of-the-concept-of-number-has-been-adjective-three-cows/) [Barry Mazur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mazur/) > [In my opinion, using different kinds of epithets and adjectives in connection with the word democracy is a sign of mere hypocrisy, to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/in-my-opinion-using-different-kinds-of-epithets-and-adjectives-in/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [But what is memory if not the language of feeling, a dictionary of faces and days and smells which repeat themselves like the verbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/but-what-is-memory-if-not-the-language-of-feeling-a-dictionary-of/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [Eschew all those beastly adjectives...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/eschew-all-those-beastly-adjectives/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [I will give you my definition of a nation, and you can add the adjective 'Jewish.' A Nation is, in my mind, an historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-herzl/i-will-give-you-my-definition-of-a-nation-and-you-can-add-the/) [Theodor Herzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-herzl/) > [The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceived of magic that would make heavy things light and able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-mind-that-thought-of-light-heavy-grey-yellow-still-swift-also/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [Whatever you want to say, there is only one word to express it, only one verb to give it movement, only one adjective to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/whatever-you-want-to-say-there-is-only-one-word-to-express-it-only/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English―it is the modern way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-notice-that-you-use-plain-simple-language-short-words-and-brief/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Purity of action guided Janis's behavior. If she was going to be good, she was very, very good. If she was going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/purity-of-action-guided-janis-s-behavior-if-she-was-going-to-be-good/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [I have been called 'Bongshell' the day I stepped into showbiz. So, any adjective coming my way, I take it positively. Sometimes it's also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bipasha-basu/i-have-been-called-bongshell-the-day-i-stepped-into-showbiz-so-any/) [Bipasha Basu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bipasha-basu/) > [I like that 'Mad Men' is now an adjective I use to describe clothing when I'm shopping: 'I like this top. It's very 'Mad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-brie/i-like-that-mad-men-is-now-an-adjective-i-use-to-describe-clothing/) [Alison Brie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-brie/) > [anything being perceived as being superior takes the noun. And everything that isn't, that's judged to be inferior, requires an adjective. So there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/anything-being-perceived-as-being-superior-takes-the-noun-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The only sort of descriptive adjective or catch phrase for my music would be 'eclectic.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/the-only-sort-of-descriptive-adjective-or-catch-phrase-for-my-music/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) Browse all 239 Adjectives quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I told him I'd always found the description a little too long on adjectives and a little too short on specifics.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amor Towles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-description-a-little-too-long-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adjectives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-description-a-little-too-long-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e6/amor-towles-1249_adjectives_i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-descript_930990.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I told him I'd always found the description a little too long on adjectives and a little too short on…” — Amor Towles", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amor Towles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I told him I'd always found...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-description-a-little-too-long-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-told-him-i-d-always-found-the-description-a-little-too-long-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```