--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs…" description: "\"“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.”\" — Anton Chekhov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg" --- # Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ![“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.” quote by Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg) > ““Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.”” [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. Removing excess adjectives and adverbs sharpens prose and strengthens clarity. **In simple terms:** Cut unnecessary words. Key Takeaway Write concisely. Themes writing clarity editing Mood practical reflective Type instructional literary When to use this quote - novel drafting - journalism - academic papers Key Concepts style economy of language Questions to Reflect On - Which words truly add value? - How to balance brevity and nuance? A Different Perspective Over‑editing may strip voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adverbs/) [Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cross/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ... It is comprehensible when I write: "The man sat on the grass," because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs-as-you-can-it-is/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [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/) > [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/) > [The road to Hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-unbought-stuffed-dogs/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [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/) > [A relativist is an individual who doesn't know the difference between an adjective and an adverb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-relativist-is-an-individual-who-doesn-t-know-the-difference-between/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [To take a few nouns, and a few pronouns, and adverbs and adjectives, and put them together, ball them up, and throw them against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/to-take-a-few-nouns-and-a-few-pronouns-and-adverbs-and-adjectives-and/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Words are like that, they deceive, they pile up, it seems they do not know where to go, and, suddenly, because of two or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/words-are-like-that-they-deceive-they-pile-up-it-seems-they-do-not/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Don Basilio was a forbidding-looking man with a bushy mustache who did not suffer fools and who subscribed to the theory that the liberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/don-basilio-was-a-forbidding-looking-man-with-a-bushy-mustache-who/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [You expect far too much of a first sentence. Think of it as analagous to a good country breakfast: what we want is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/you-expect-far-too-much-of-a-first-sentence-think-of-it-as-analagous/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [Empty your knapsack of all adjectives, adverbs and clauses that slo your stride and weaken your pace. Travel light. Remember the most memorable sentences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/empty-your-knapsack-of-all-adjectives-adverbs-and-clauses-that-slo/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [Adjectives are the sugar of literature and adverbs the salt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/adjectives-are-the-sugar-of-literature-and-adverbs-the-salt/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Probably the best way to describe my writing style is to refer you to "purple prose", which was a tag given to the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-johnson/probably-the-best-way-to-describe-my-writing-style-is-to-refer-you-to/) [Tom Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-johnson/) > [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/) ## 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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anton Chekhov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs-as-you-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adjectives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs-as-you-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/anton-chekhov-298_adjectives_cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs_2820029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can.” — Anton Chekhov", "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": "Anton Chekhov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Cross out as many adjectives and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs-as-you-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/cross-out-as-many-adjectives-and-adverbs-as-you-can/#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 } } ] } ```