"I notice that you use plain, simple language,……" — Mark Twain

"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 and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them―then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice."

Adjective Quotes Adjective Kill Quotes Adjectives Quotes Any Quotes Apart Quotes Best Quotes Best Way Quotes Brief Quotes Brief Sentences Quotes Catch Quotes Close Quotes Close Together Quotes Crafts Quotes Creep Quotes Creeps Quotes Diffuse Quotes English Quotes Fastened Quotes Fastened Upon Quotes Flower Quotes Flowers Quotes Flowery Quotes Fluff Quotes Get Quotes Get Rid Quotes Give Quotes Give Strength Quotes Giving Quotes Habit Quotes Hard Quotes I Notice Quotes Kill Quotes Language Quotes Let Quotes Mean Quotes Mean Utterly Quotes Modern Quotes Modern Way Quotes Most Quotes Notice Quotes Once Quotes Other Quotes Other Vice Quotes Person Quotes Persons Quotes Plain Quotes Plain Simple Quotes Programming Quotes Rest Quotes Rid Quotes Sentences Quotes Short Quotes Short Words Quotes Simple Quotes Simple Language Quotes Stick Quotes Sticks Quotes Strength Quotes Them Quotes They Give Quotes They Weaken Quotes Together Quotes Together They Give Quotes Upon Quotes Use Quotes Use Plain Quotes Utterly Quotes Valuable Quotes Verbosity Quotes Vice Quotes Vices Quotes Way Quotes Weaken Quotes Wide Quotes Wide Apart Quotes Words Quotes Wordy Quotes Write Quotes Write English Quotes Writing Quotes You Catch Quotes You Use Quotes

2,052 Quotes by Mark Twain

Mark Twain has 2,052 quotes on this site. A few more worth reading:

See all 2,052 quotes by Mark Twain »

More Adjective Quotes

This quote is filed under Adjective Quotes, one of 87 quotes in that category. Here are a few more:

Jealous, adj. Unduly concerned about the preservation of that which can be lost only if not worth keeping. — Ambrose Bierce
Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence. — Ambrose Bierce
Ambidextrous, adj.: Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left. — Ambrose Bierce
Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake,… — Ambrose Bierce
Famous, adj.: Conspicuously miserable. — Ambrose Bierce
I like that 'Mad Men' is now an adjective I use to describe clothing when I'm shopping: 'I like this… — Alison Brie
Goresthorpe Grange is a feudal mansion - or so it was termed in the advertisement which originally brought it under… — Arthur Conan Doyle
The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech. — Clifton Fadiman
Whatever one wishes to say, there is one noun only by which to express it, one verb only to give… — Guy de Maupassant
Cuisine has become too complicated - this is about subject, verb, adjective: duck, turnips, sauce. — Alain Ducasse
If you can remember all the accessories that go with your best outfit, the contents of your purse, the starting… — Stephen King
Whatever the thing you wish to say, there is but one word to express it, but one verb to give… — Gustave Flaubert

See all 87 Adjective Quotes »