--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement…" description: "\"Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think of until too late.\" — James Alexander Thom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png" --- # Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think… ![“Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think of until too late.” quote by James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png) > “Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think of until too late.” [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An aphorism is a brief, witty statement that becomes clear only after reflection. **In simple terms:** Brief witty statements reveal truth later. Key Takeaway Reflect on the timing of insight. Themes wisdom language reflection Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - personal journals - teaching moments - creative writing Key Concepts conciseness timing cognitive delay Questions to Reflect On - When have you missed a simple truth? - Why do some insights need time to surface? A Different Perspective Aphorisms may be overlooked initially, reducing immediate impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aphorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) [Aphorism Concise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism-concise-5874783/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Clever Statement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever-statement-890523/) [Concise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concise/) [Concise Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concise-clever-890524/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Quotations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quotations/) [Quoting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quoting/) [Statements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statements/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [Afterism (n) - A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alexander-thom/afterism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-you-don-t-think-of-until-too/) [John Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alexander-thom/) > [An aphorism is a mental exercise, psychical, logical, linguistic, spiritual, ritual, emotional and rational, it is a major conceptual and literary activity, a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/an-aphorism-is-a-mental-exercise-psychical-logical-linguistic/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [I believe aphorisms are best when first read in the wild, free from the confines of any categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/i-believe-aphorisms-are-best-when-first-read-in-the-wild-free-from/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [An aphorism is not an aphorism unless you know what it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/an-aphorism-is-not-an-aphorism-unless-you-know-what-it-means/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There is nothing more difficult to define than an aphorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-define-than-an-aphorism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Writing an upbeat aphorism is a temptation, but decorum forbids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/writing-an-upbeat-aphorism-is-a-temptation-but-decorum-forbids/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [APHORISM, n. Predigested wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/aphorism-n-predigested-wisdom/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [An apt aphorism half kills, half immortalizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/an-apt-aphorism-half-kills-half-immortalizes/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [An aphorism that does not score is just one more sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/an-aphorism-that-does-not-score-is-just-one-more-sentence/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [An aphorism is a personal observation inflated into a universal truth, a private posing as a general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-kanfer/an-aphorism-is-a-personal-observation-inflated-into-a-universal-truth/) [Stefan Kanfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-kanfer/) > [The excellence of aphorisms consists not so much in the expression of some rare or abstruse sentiment, as in the comprehension of some useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-excellence-of-aphorisms-consists-not-so-much-in-the-expression-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [APHORISM, n. Predigested wisdom. The flabby wine-skin of his brain Yields to some pathologic strain, And voids from its unstored abysm The driblet of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/aphorism-n-predigested-wisdom-the-flabby-wine-skin-of-his-brain/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Aphorisms are not true or false, but pointed or flat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/aphorisms-are-not-true-or-false-but-pointed-or-flat/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Finding a thought for an aphorism is not hard. Putting a kink in its tail is the hard part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/finding-a-thought-for-an-aphorism-is-not-hard-putting-a-kink-in-its/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [An aphorism is the last link in a long chain of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/an-aphorism-is-the-last-link-in-a-long-chain-of-thought/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) ## More by James Alexander Thom > [Whether a character in your novel is full of choler, bile, phlegm, blood or plain old buffalo chips, the fire of life is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/whether-a-character-in-your-novel-is-full-of-choler-bile-phlegm-blood/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [“He remembered another one of his mother's saying. It was back when she'd birthed Fanny, her tenth. Someone had siad it was about time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/he-remembered-another-one-of-his-mother-s-saying-it-was-back-when-she/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [For every time we regret keeping still, there are about ten times we regret speaking up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/for-every-time-we-regret-keeping-still-there-are-about-ten-times-we/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [“But then he remembered what George had told him about pain. You know what you can do, even if your body says quit. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/but-then-he-remembered-what-george-had-told-him-about-pain-you-know/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [“Once upon a time it was now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/once-upon-a-time-it-was-now/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [Probably the most honest "self-made person" ever was the one we heard say: "I got to the top the hard way - fighting my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/probably-the-most-honest-self-made-person-ever-was-the-one-we-heard/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [Too often we seek justice for just us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/too-often-we-seek-justice-for-just-us/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [We pick bygone time up by the handfuls and, like clay, see if it feels right and then form it into stories about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/we-pick-bygone-time-up-by-the-handfuls-and-like-clay-see-if-it-feels/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [To read Lucia St. Clair Robson is to learn while being thoroughly entertained. Last Train from Cuernavaca puts us through the tragic violence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/to-read-lucia-st-clair-robson-is-to-learn-while-being-thoroughly/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) > [If there is a rumor in the air about you, you'd better treat it as you would a wasp: either ignore it or kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/if-there-is-a-rumor-in-the-air-about-you-you-d-better-treat-it-as-you/) [James Alexander Thom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) [Explore all 11 James Alexander Thom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/) ## More Aphorism quotes > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Listen! The court jester's cap and bells. The King is coming!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/listen-the-court-jester-s-cap-and-bells-the-king-is-coming/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The eleventh commandment of art: thou shalt not be boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-m-driscoll/the-eleventh-commandment-of-art-thou-shalt-not-be-boring/) [W.M. Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-m-driscoll/) > [A journal takes the place of a confidant, that is, of friend or wife; it becomes a substitute for production, a substitute for country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-journal-takes-the-place-of-a-confidant-that-is-of-friend-or-wife-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The real purpose of the opposition is to minimize the amount of money the ruling party will have stolen from the people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-real-purpose-of-the-opposition-is-to-minimize-the-amount-of-money/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“I played the best role in my life. I had a great director.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-played-the-best-role-in-my-life-i-had-a-great-director/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“Be ware! Santa Claus is a fake profile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/be-ware-santa-claus-is-a-fake-profile/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“He who lies and steals ...and forms a government.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/he-who-lies-and-steals-and-forms-a-government/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“I got married. A bright past is ahead of me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/i-got-married-a-bright-past-is-ahead-of-me/) [ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [“People who smile while they are alone used to be called insane, until we invented smartphones and social media.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/people-who-smile-while-they-are-alone-used-to-be-called-insane-until/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Why must an aphorism be brief? Because only a fool gives a speech in a burning house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/why-must-an-aphorism-be-brief-because-only-a-fool-gives-a-speech-in-a/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [How many of us have been attracted to reason; first learned to think, to draw conclusions, to extract a moral from the follies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-many-of-us-have-been-attracted-to-reason-first-learned-to-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 399 Aphorism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aphorism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think of until too late.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Alexander Thom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-you-don-t-think-of-until-too/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aphorism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-you-don-t-think-of-until-too/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/james-alexander-thom-39036_aphorism_aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-yo_756488.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement you don’t think of until too late.” — James Alexander Thom", "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": "James Alexander Thom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alexander-thom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Aphorism, n.: A concise, clever statement...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-you-don-t-think-of-until-too/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alexander-thom/aphorism-n-a-concise-clever-statement-you-don-t-think-of-until-too/#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 } } ] } ```