--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could throw 56-pound words clear across…" description: "\"I could throw 56-pound words clear across the Grand Canyon. As a matter of course, I went into politics.\" — Henry F. Ashurst" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/henry-f-ashurst-51509_canyons_i-could-throw-56-pound-words-clear-acros_2749514.jpg" --- # I could throw 56-pound words clear across the Grand… ![“I could throw 56-pound words clear across the Grand Canyon. As a matter of course, I went into politics.” quote by Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/henry-f-ashurst-51509_canyons_i-could-throw-56-pound-words-clear-acros_2749514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/henry-f-ashurst-51509_canyons_i-could-throw-56-pound-words-clear-acros_2749514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/henry-f-ashurst-51509_canyons_i-could-throw-56-pound-words-clear-acros_2749514.jpg) > “I could throw 56-pound words clear across the Grand Canyon. As a matter of course, I went into politics.” [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker boasts about his rhetorical power and political ambition, using a vivid metaphor of throwing heavy words across a canyon. **In simple terms:** He claims his words are powerful and he entered politics. Key Takeaway Use bold language wisely. Themes politics communication rhetoric Mood assertive proud Type political rhetorical When to use this quote - public speaking - campaign speeches - debates - media interviews Key Concepts metaphor confidence ambition Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance confidence with humility? - When does rhetoric become empty? A Different Perspective Bold claims can alienate listeners if not backed by substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canyons/) [Grand canyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grand-canyon/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [There was a camera club at Columbia, where I was taking a painting course. And when I went down, somebody showed me how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/there-was-a-camera-club-at-columbia-where-i-was-taking-a-painting/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [Well, once you've been in the Canyon and once you've sort of fallen in love with it, it never ends...it's always been a fascinating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/well-once-you-ve-been-in-the-canyon-and-once-you-ve-sort-of-fallen-in/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-c-peattie/the-grand-canyon-is-carven-deep-by-the-master-hand-it-is-the-gulf-of/) [Donald C. Peattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-c-peattie/) > [It has been well said that an author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-has-been-well-said-that-an-author-who-expects-results-from-a-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love my country, by which I mean I am indebted joyfully to all the people throughout its history, who have fought the government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-love-my-country-by-which-i-mean-i-am-indebted-joyfully-to-all-the/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [The church as we know it today seems a million miles from the New Testament church. That may be a great generalization, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-church-as-we-know-it-today-seems-a-million-miles-from-the-new/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [The most refined skills of color printing, the intricate techniques of wide-angle photography, provide us pictures of trivia bigger and more real than life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-most-refined-skills-of-color-printing-the-intricate-techniques-of/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [If you understood a business perfectly and the future of the business, you would need very little in the way of a margin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-you-understood-a-business-perfectly-and-the-future-of-the-business/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/what-can-be-more-soul-shaking-than-peering-through-a-100-inch/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [A rill in a barnyard and the Grand Canyon represent, in the main, stages of valley erosion that began some millions of years apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/a-rill-in-a-barnyard-and-the-grand-canyon-represent-in-the-main/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [I had so much fun touring the Grand Canyon area with the Sierra Club. I love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gould/i-had-so-much-fun-touring-the-grand-canyon-area-with-the-sierra-club/) [Nolan Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gould/) > [The Grand Canyon is living evidence of the power of water over a period of time. The power may not manifest immediately. Water can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-grand-canyon-is-living-evidence-of-the-power-of-water-over-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Henry F. Ashurst > [It is still an open question as to whether mankind or insects shall ultimately inherit the earth. It is my opinion that mankind ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-ashurst/it-is-still-an-open-question-as-to-whether-mankind-or-insects-shall/) [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) > [Silence is the best substitute for brains ever invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-ashurst/silence-is-the-best-substitute-for-brains-ever-invented/) [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) > [A speech is entertaining only when serenely detached from all information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-ashurst/a-speech-is-entertaining-only-when-serenely-detached-from-all/) [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) > [When I have to choose between voting for the people or the special interests, I always stick with the special interests. They remember. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-ashurst/when-i-have-to-choose-between-voting-for-the-people-or-the-special/) [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) > [No man is fit to be a Senator...unless he is willing to surrender his political life for great principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-ashurst/no-man-is-fit-to-be-a-senator-unless-he-is-willing-to-surrender-his/) [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) > [Politics is like roller skating. You go partly where you want to go, and partly where the damn things take you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-f-ashurst/politics-is-like-roller-skating-you-go-partly-where-you-want-to-go/) [Henry F. Ashurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) [Explore all 7 Henry F. Ashurst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-f-ashurst/) ## More Canyons quotes > [When you jump across a canyon, cautious small steps and vacillation won't work. Sometimes you just have to go for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/when-you-jump-across-a-canyon-cautious-small-steps-and-vacillation/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [There was a lot of camaraderie among the bands. I remember a lot of times when I'd be driving up Laurel Canyon and pass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-millington/there-was-a-lot-of-camaraderie-among-the-bands-i-remember-a-lot-of/) [June Millington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-millington/) > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“My mind is like the valley—this vast barren waste. Car lots. Malls. Tract homes. I know there are other worlds beyond it—of canyons full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/my-mind-is-like-the-valley-this-vast-barren-waste-car-lots-malls/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-really-wonderful-moments-of-joy-in-this-world-are-not-the-moments/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [On the lip of the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to do that. My very first TV special out of the Olympics was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boitano/on-the-lip-of-the-grand-canyon-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-that-my-very/) [Brian Boitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boitano/) > [There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-nothing-in-the-world-more-beautiful-than-the-yosemite/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“The soft black talc blew through the streets like squid ink uncoiling along a sea floor and the cold crept down and the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-soft-black-talc-blew-through-the-streets-like-squid-ink-uncoiling/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [The Grand Canyon is living evidence of the power of water over a period of time. The power may not manifest immediately. Water can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-grand-canyon-is-living-evidence-of-the-power-of-water-over-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I had so much fun touring the Grand Canyon area with the Sierra Club. I love to get outdoors and enjoy nature. We went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gould/i-had-so-much-fun-touring-the-grand-canyon-area-with-the-sierra-club/) [Nolan Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gould/) > [A rill in a barnyard and the Grand Canyon represent, in the main, stages of valley erosion that began some millions of years apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/a-rill-in-a-barnyard-and-the-grand-canyon-represent-in-the-main/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [I work out at Runyon Canyon almost every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-donovan/i-work-out-at-runyon-canyon-almost-every-morning/) [Trevor Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-donovan/) > [I was screaming into the canyon at the moment of my death; the echo I created outlasted my last breath,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-was-screaming-into-the-canyon-at-the-moment-of-my-death-the-echo-i/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [Water is patient; it can stagnate and let itself be coated with scum if need be. It is as gentle as the morning's dew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/water-is-patient-it-can-stagnate-and-let-itself-be-coated-with-scum/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) [Browse all 173 Canyons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canyons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I could throw 56-pound words clear across the Grand Canyon. As a matter of course, I went into politics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry F. 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