---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I certainly didn't mind possibly sending…"
description: "\"“I certainly didn't mind possibly sending the reader to a dictionary once in a while, but I tried not to do it too often.”\" — China Miéville"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png"
---

#  I certainly didn't mind possibly sending the reader to a…

![“I certainly didn't mind possibly sending the reader to a dictionary once in a while, but I tried not to do it too often.” quote by China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png)

> ““I certainly didn't mind possibly sending the reader to a dictionary once in a while, but I tried not to do it too often.””

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The writer acknowledges occasional dictionary references but aims to keep them sparing to maintain flow.

**In simple terms:** Use dictionaries sparingly to aid readers.

Key Takeaway

Balance clarity with readability.

Themes

writing clarity reader aid

Mood

thoughtful pragmatic

Type

literary advice

When to use this quote

- editing process
- educational writing
- reader engagement

Key Concepts

lexical support authorial restraint

Questions to Reflect On

- When is a definition essential?
- How do you decide to explain a term?

A Different Perspective

Overuse can disrupt narrative rhythm.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary/) [Dictionary Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictionary-tried-4097552/) [Didn Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-mind-1367597/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reader Dictionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-dictionary-3215845/)

## Related quotes

> [He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/he-has-never-been-known-to-use-a-word-that-might-send-a-reader-to-the/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." (on Ernest Hemingway”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/he-has-never-been-known-to-use-a-word-that-might-send-a-reader-to-the-2/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [She didn't mind a little rain. At least no one would see her cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisi-harrison/she-didn-t-mind-a-little-rain-at-least-no-one-would-see-her-cry/)

[Lisi Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisi-harrison/)

> [“He didn't mind facing the music in most cases, but he wasn't partial to the wedding march.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-jordan/he-didn-t-mind-facing-the-music-in-most-cases-but-he-wasn-t-partial/)

[Joanna Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-jordan/)

> [“He didn’t mind killing children. He looked forward to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-didn-t-mind-killing-children-he-looked-forward-to-it/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [Well, the first year I lost my voice I didn't mind so much because I was going to have a baby and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanne-cash/well-the-first-year-i-lost-my-voice-i-didn-t-mind-so-much-because-i/)

[Rosanne Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanne-cash/)

> [“He was nice. And he was hot. And he didn't seem to mind that I was borderline mental.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-robinson/he-was-nice-and-he-was-hot-and-he-didn-t-seem-to-mind-that-i-was/)

[Lucy Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-robinson/)

> [“And it made it so that girls could get to know me and see me as a friend. I was always the friend guy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-faris/and-it-made-it-so-that-girls-could-get-to-know-me-and-see-me-as-a/)

[Anna Faris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-faris/)

> [“Did he say anything about your mother?” “No. I don’t think he saw her when he looked in. He just saw you.” “Well, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-newman/did-he-say-anything-about-your-mother-no-i-don-t-think-he-saw-her/)

[Robert Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-newman/)

> [I've always been a guy who didn't mind speaking to reporters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-olsen/i-ve-always-been-a-guy-who-didn-t-mind-speaking-to-reporters/)

[Greg Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-olsen/)

> [We knew what it was like to go without a lot of things, but we didn't mind, because we were going without those things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-riley/we-knew-what-it-was-like-to-go-without-a-lot-of-things-but-we-didn-t/)

[Ruth Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-riley/)

> [I didn't mind being thought of as dumb. I knew I wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/i-didn-t-mind-being-thought-of-as-dumb-i-knew-i-wasn-t/)

[Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/)

> [“He didn’t mind doin’ that time when doing it meant he would walk out to Lexie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/he-didn-t-mind-doin-that-time-when-doing-it-meant-he-would-walk-out/)

[Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/)

> [I didn't mind going to any length to make people believe that a puny hero had me at his mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-christo/i-didn-t-mind-going-to-any-length-to-make-people-believe-that-a-puny/)

[Bob Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-christo/)

> [“You didn't mind someone shutting out the world as long as they were happy to take you inside with them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-henderson/you-didn-t-mind-someone-shutting-out-the-world-as-long-as-they-were/)

[Lauren Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-henderson/)

## More by China Miéville

> [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“Houses built on bridges are scandals. A bridge wants to not be. If it could choose its shape, a bridge would be no shape,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/houses-built-on-bridges-are-scandals-a-bridge-wants-to-not-be-if-it/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [Remember the movements that don't look like moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/remember-the-movements-that-don-t-look-like-moving/)

[China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“Either way, it is a curio of the moment that hard-left advocates of ‘all power to the soviets’ were delegated by a soviet opponent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/either-way-it-is-a-curio-of-the-moment-that-hard-left-advocates-of/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [It felt like being a child again, though it was not. Being a child is like nothing. It's only being. Later, when we think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/it-felt-like-being-a-child-again-though-it-was-not-being-a-child-is/)

[China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“We have to establish our credentials as an explorocracy; so to survive and rule ourselves, we have to explore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/we-have-to-establish-our-credentials-as-an-explorocracy-so-to-survive/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“So long as it fated, fate didn’t care what it fated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/so-long-as-it-fated-fate-didn-t-care-what-it-fated/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“Everything's fit to be worshipped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/everything-s-fit-to-be-worshipped/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“Death isn't what it used to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/death-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“almanacs, or what was left of them when those pages making incorrect predictions and offering unhelpful advice had been torn out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/almanacs-or-what-was-left-of-them-when-those-pages-making-incorrect/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“There are no telepaths in this universe, I think, but there are empathics, with languages so silent that they may as well be sharing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-are-no-telepaths-in-this-universe-i-think-but-there-are/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“The poets and artists and philosophers, resistance activists, secret scouts and troublemakers, had become, as they must, soldiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-poets-and-artists-and-philosophers-resistance-activists-secret/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“The city’s a heart, I said, and in that a heart and a city were sutured into a third thing, a heartish city, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/the-city-s-a-heart-i-said-and-in-that-a-heart-and-a-city-were-sutured/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [“As he got older, Billy suspected, he would, Dicaprio-like, simply become like an increasingly wizened child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/as-he-got-older-billy-suspected-he-would-dicaprio-like-simply-become/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/scars-are-memory-like-sutures-they-stitch-the-past-to-me/)

[China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

[Explore all 257 China Miéville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

[Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

[Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/)

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I certainly didn't mind possibly sending the reader to a dictionary once in a while, but I tried not to do it too often.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "China Miéville"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending-the-reader-to-a-dictionary/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending-the-reader-to-a-dictionary/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd0/china-mi-ville-1303_books_i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending_2085872.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I certainly didn't mind possibly sending the reader to a dictionary once in a while, but I tried not to do…” — China Miéville",
                "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": "China Miéville",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I certainly didn't mind possibly sending...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending-the-reader-to-a-dictionary/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-certainly-didn-t-mind-possibly-sending-the-reader-to-a-dictionary/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
