--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our language has become a tired and…" description: "\"Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in the hands of journalists and writers who have nothing to say.\" — Colin Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg" --- # Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in… ![“Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in the hands of journalists and writers who have nothing to say.” quote by Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg) > “Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in the hands of journalists and writers who have nothing to say.” [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Journalists often use language without substance, making it stale and ineffective. **In simple terms:** Empty words make language tired. Key Takeaway Seek clarity and purpose in writing. Themes communication writing journalism clarity efficiency Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - newsrooms - editorial meetings - public speeches - blog posts Key Concepts semantic decay media criticism authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How can writers add meaning to their words? - What responsibilities do journalists have to their audience? A Different Perspective If the audience lacks interest, even clear language may fail. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Inefficient Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inefficient-thing-2411493/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Journalists Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalists-writers-2411492/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-tired-2411490/) [The-outsider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-outsider-188000/) [Tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tired/) [Tired Inefficient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tired-inefficient-2411491/) [Writers Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-say-499483/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The outsider is not sure who he is. He has found an “I”, but it is not his true “I”.’ His main business is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-outsider-is-not-sure-who-he-is-he-has-found-an-i-but-it-is-not/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [There are many people who say, 'I write for myself.' I think that if you write and publish, then you write for your readers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngeles-mastretta/there-are-many-people-who-say-i-write-for-myself-i-think-that-if-you/) [Angeles Mastretta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngeles-mastretta/) > [The writers who have nothing to say, are the ones you can buy, the others have too high a price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/the-writers-who-have-nothing-to-say-are-the-ones-you-can-buy-the/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I've heard people, usually writers, say that no one wrote a great book after winning the Booker, but I honestly did not feel any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-ve-heard-people-usually-writers-say-that-no-one-wrote-a-great-book/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I always individuate myself from other writers who say they would die if they couldn't write. For me, I'd die if I couldn't read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-always-individuate-myself-from-other-writers-who-say-they-would-die/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Great writers say things that are so beautiful, the very act of repeating them makes life itself more beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-queenan/great-writers-say-things-that-are-so-beautiful-the-very-act-of/) [Joe Queenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-queenan/) > [“Every so often I'll hear writers say that there are other writers they would read if for no other reason than to marvel at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/every-so-often-i-ll-hear-writers-say-that-there-are-other-writers/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [Writers always say, 'I always knew I wanted to be a writer; when I was a three-month-old foetus a pen formed in my hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/writers-always-say-i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-when-i-was-a/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I am very lucky: not very many writers can say they genuinely like the film of their book. However, I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-davidson/i-am-very-lucky-not-very-many-writers-can-say-they-genuinely-like-the/) [Robyn Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-davidson/) > [People say, 'What advice do you have for people who want to be writers?' I say, they don't really need advice, they know they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-stine/people-say-what-advice-do-you-have-for-people-who-want-to-be-writers/) [R. L. Stine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-stine/) > [I'm one of those writers who say, 'I've enjoy having written.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-m-one-of-those-writers-who-say-i-ve-enjoy-having-written/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Writers say many true things about their own experiences with publicity and promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-nielsen-hayden/writers-say-many-true-things-about-their-own-experiences-with/) [Teresa Nielsen Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-nielsen-hayden/) > [I'm always amazed by writers who say, 'Oh you know I had a half hour so I sat down and wrote a little bit.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-winter/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-say-oh-you-know-i-had-a-half-hour-so/) [Terence Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-winter/) > [There are writers who say they have no social responsibility except to write a good book, but that doesn't satisfy me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/there-are-writers-who-say-they-have-no-social-responsibility-except/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [“But there is also the minority of gifted, wilful people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-there-is-also-the-minority-of-gifted-wilful-people-who-are/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Colin Wilson > [“Man is not a 'fixed and limited animal whose nature is absolutely constant'. He changed drastically when he developed 'divided consciousness' to cope with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-not-a-fixed-and-limited-animal-whose-nature-is-absolutely/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“As to Gurdjieff's power to renew his own energies, its essence had been understood by psychologists of the nineteenth century, decades before the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/as-to-gurdjieff-s-power-to-renew-his-own-energies-its-essence-had/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The mystical impulse in men is somehow a desire to possess the universe. In women, it's a desire to be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-mystical-impulse-in-men-is-somehow-a-desire-to-possess-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The exploration of oneself is usually also an exploration of the world at large, of other writers, a process of comparison with oneself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-exploration-of-oneself-is-usually-also-an-exploration-of-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“There is in Shaw, as in Gurdjieff and Nietzsche, a recognition of the immense effort of Will that is necessary to express even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/there-is-in-shaw-as-in-gurdjieff-and-nietzsche-a-recognition-of-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that people who make a fuss about politics do so because their heads are too empty to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-was-aggressively-nonpolitical-i-believed-that-people-who-make-a/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Christianity was an epidemic rather than a religion. It appealed to fear, hysteria and ignorance. It spread across the Western world, not because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/christianity-was-an-epidemic-rather-than-a-religion-it-appealed-to/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [When I open my eyes in the morning, I am not confronted by a world, but by a million possible worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/when-i-open-my-eyes-in-the-morning-i-am-not-confronted-by-a-world-but/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Religion, mysticism and magic all spring from the same basic 'feeling' about the universe: a sudden feeling of meaning, which human beings sometimes 'pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/religion-mysticism-and-magic-all-spring-from-the-same-basic-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Man is brilliant at solving problems; but solving them only makes him the victim of his own childishness and laziness. It is this recognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-brilliant-at-solving-problems-but-solving-them-only-makes-him/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [It was Rousseau who was largely responsible for the problem by giving currency to the idea that freedom can exist without responsibility and discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/it-was-rousseau-who-was-largely-responsible-for-the-problem-by-giving/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [If I'd stayed on in London and carried on going to literary parties, it would have wrecked me as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-i-d-stayed-on-in-london-and-carried-on-going-to-literary-parties/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Imagination should be used, not to escape reality but to create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/imagination-should-be-used-not-to-escape-reality-but-to-create-it/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [If you asked me what is the basis of all my work, it's the feeling there's something basically wrong with human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-you-asked-me-what-is-the-basis-of-all-my-work-it-s-the-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The sheer volume of evidence for survival after death is so immense that to ignore it is like standing at the foot of Mount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-sheer-volume-of-evidence-for-survival-after-death-is-so-immense/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) [Explore all 81 Colin Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) ## More Hands quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“for they are all the work of his hands?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan/for-they-are-all-the-work-of-his-hands/) [Zondervan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan/) > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [My happiness is in my hands not between another person hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hero/my-happiness-is-in-my-hands-not-between-another-person-hands/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hero/) [Browse all 18,228 Hands quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in the hands of journalists and writers who have nothing to say.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colin Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inefficient-thing-in-the-hands-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hands" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inefficient-thing-in-the-hands-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c5/colin-wilson-8331_hands_our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inef_1848915.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our language has become a tired and inefficient thing in the hands of journalists and writers who have…” — Colin Wilson", "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": "Colin Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our language has become a tired...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inefficient-thing-in-the-hands-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/our-language-has-become-a-tired-and-inefficient-thing-in-the-hands-of/#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 } } ] } ```