--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs…" description: "\"Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ... It is comprehensible when I write: \"The man sat on the grass,\" because it is clear and does no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_1841113.jpg" --- # Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can… ![“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ... It is comprehensible when I write: "The man sat on the grass," because it is clear and does not detain one's attention. On the other hand, it is difficult to figure out and hard on the brain if I write: "The tall, narrow-chested man of…” quote by Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_1841113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_1841113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_1841113.jpg) > “Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ... It is comprehensible when I write: "The man sat on the grass," because it is clear and does not detain one's attention. On the other hand, it is difficult to figure out and hard on the brain if I write: "The tall, narrow-chested man of medium height and with a red beard sat down on the green grass that had already been trampled down by the pedestrians, sat down silently, looking around timidly and fearfully." The brain can't grasp all that at once, and art must be grasped at once, instantaneously.” [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Clarity in writing requires stripping excess description so the mind can process the image instantly. **In simple terms:** Remove unnecessary detail for instant comprehension. Key Takeaway Simplify language to aid understanding. Themes clarity conciseness communication Mood analytical reflective Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - editing - teaching - public speaking - writing workshops Key Concepts cognitive load syntax attention span Questions to Reflect On - How does detail affect reader engagement? - When is brevity more effective than description? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification may omit nuance or richness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adjectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/) [Adjectives Adverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives-adverbs-2350663/) [Adjectives and adverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives-and-adverbs-3772/) [Adverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adverbs/) [Adverbs Comprehensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adverbs-comprehensible-2350662/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beard/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brain Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-write-1618149/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grass/) [Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green/) [Green grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green-grass/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Height](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/height/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Looking Around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-around/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pedestrians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pedestrians/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Tall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tall/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs-as-you-can/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Younger women tend to be busier, wearing more layers and more make-up. I don't know if it's because older women are more confident, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/younger-women-tend-to-be-busier-wearing-more-layers-and-more-make-up/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [Every adjective and adverb is worth five cents. Every verb is worth fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/every-adjective-and-adverb-is-worth-five-cents-every-verb-is-worth/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [All people in the world - who are not hermits or mutes - speak words. They speak different languages, but they speak words. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/all-people-in-the-world-who-are-not-hermits-or-mutes-speak-words-they/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The question that arises as we use all these adjectives and adverbs to describe our physicians as we approach a Supreme Court nominee is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-coburn/the-question-that-arises-as-we-use-all-these-adjectives-and-adverbs/) [Tom Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-coburn/) > [I think the best way to put it is that newspictures are the noun and the verb; our kind of photography is the adjective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-stryker/i-think-the-best-way-to-put-it-is-that-newspictures-are-the-noun-and/) [Roy Stryker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-stryker/) > [I need all of my songs while I'm writing them, because I need to get the stuff out of my body and out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-anderson/i-need-all-of-my-songs-while-i-m-writing-them-because-i-need-to-get/) [Jacob Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-anderson/) > [“Nouns and verbs are the guts of the language. Beware of covering up with adjectives and adverbs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nouns-and-verbs-are-the-guts-of-the-language-beware-of-covering-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've really tried to strip my writing of as many adjectives and adverbs as I possibly can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-really-tried-to-strip-my-writing-of-as-many-adjectives-and/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me. To misplace an adverb is a thing which I am able to do with frozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-dead-to-adverbs-they-cannot-excite-me-to-misplace-an-adverb-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-believe-the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-adverbs-and-i-will-shout-it/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“All the deaths are dead for nothing but you're not dead at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/all-the-deaths-are-dead-for-nothing-but-you-re-not-dead-at-all/) [daniel handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“Overuse at best is needless clutter; at worst, it creates the impression that the characters are overacting, emoting like silent film stars. Still, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-mittelmark/overuse-at-best-is-needless-clutter-at-worst-it-creates-the/) [Howard Mittelmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-mittelmark/) > [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## More by Anton Chekhov > [“Using vile means to attain worthy ends makes the ends themselves vile. Let them ride on the backs of doctors and medical assistants, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/using-vile-means-to-attain-worthy-ends-makes-the-ends-themselves-vile/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-ever-my-life-can-be-of-any-use-to-you-come-and-claim-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [There are still many more days of failure ahead, whole seasons of failure, things will go terribly wrong, you will have huge disappointments ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-are-still-many-more-days-of-failure-ahead-whole-seasons-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“But here was all the timorousness and angularity of inexperienced youth, a feeling of awkwardness, and an impression of bewilderment, as if someone had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/but-here-was-all-the-timorousness-and-angularity-of-inexperienced/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“At the water's edge, barrels of pitch blazed like huge bonfires. Their reflection, crimson as the rising moon, crept to meet us in long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/at-the-water-s-edge-barrels-of-pitch-blazed-like-huge-bonfires-their/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Anna Petrovna: Never talk to women about your own good qualities. Let them find out for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/anna-petrovna-never-talk-to-women-about-your-own-good-qualities-let/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [While you're playing cards with a regular guy or having a bite to eat with him, he seems a peaceable, good-humoured and not entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/while-you-re-playing-cards-with-a-regular-guy-or-having-a-bite-to-eat/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Lebedev: France has a clear and defined policy... The French know what they want. They just want to wipe out the Krauts, finish, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/lebedev-france-has-a-clear-and-defined-policy-the-french-know-what/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“My holy of holies are the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love, and the most absolute freedom - freedom from force and falsity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/my-holy-of-holies-are-the-human-body-health-intelligence-talent/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“What we have, we do not treasure,” and what’s more we do not even love it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/what-we-have-we-do-not-treasure-and-what-s-more-we-do-not-even-love-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [No matter how corrupt and unjust a convict may be, he loves fairness more than anything else. If the people placed over him are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/no-matter-how-corrupt-and-unjust-a-convict-may-be-he-loves-fairness/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“It is my opinion that every woman can be a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/it-is-my-opinion-that-every-woman-can-be-a-writer/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/his-reading-suggested-a-man-swimming-in-the-sea-among-the-wreckage-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Experience often repeated, truly bitter experience, had taught him long ago that with decent people, especially Moscow people -- always slow to move and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/experience-often-repeated-truly-bitter-experience-had-taught-him-long/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Why do you always wear black?” "I am mourning for my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/why-do-you-always-wear-black-i-am-mourning-for-my-life/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) [Explore all 679 Anton Chekhov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## 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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adjectives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ... It is comprehensible when I write: \"The man sat on the grass,\" because it is clear and does not detain one's attention. 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