--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Words, too, have genuine substance…" description: "\"Words, too, have genuine substance -- mass and weight and specific gravity.\" — Tim O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png" --- # Words, too, have genuine substance -- mass and weight and… ![“Words, too, have genuine substance -- mass and weight and specific gravity.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png) > “Words, too, have genuine substance -- mass and weight and specific gravity.” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests that words, like physical objects, have weight and gravity, implying language carries tangible impact. **In simple terms:** Words have weight and impact. Key Takeaway Choose words carefully for their influence. Themes language impact responsibility Mood thoughtful serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - writing - teaching - conflict resolution Key Concepts literary theory semantics Questions to Reflect On - How do you feel when words affect you? - What words have shaped your life? A Different Perspective Weight of words can be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Genuine Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine-substance-2810604/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Specific Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specific-gravity-2810605/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Substance Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance-mass-2810606/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-genuine-2810603/) ## Related quotes > [Books take their place according to their specific gravity as surely as potatoes in a tub.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/books-take-their-place-according-to-their-specific-gravity-as-surely/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Let your words be the genuine picture of your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/let-your-words-be-the-genuine-picture-of-your-heart/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. 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In the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/english-literature-is-a-glorious-inheritance-which-is-open-to-all/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Nothing was worse than a bovine with a 150 IQ trying to wrap its stunned mollusk tongue around the finely tuned syllables of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-anderson/nothing-was-worse-than-a-bovine-with-a-150-iq-trying-to-wrap-its/) [Gary Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-anderson/) > [The collectors of revenue and the policeman are the only symbols by which millions in India's villages know British rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-collectors-of-revenue-and-the-policeman-are-the-only-symbols-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A pronoun, too, will aptly reflect the number of its antecedent: "they" does not refer to one person, no matter how many personalities she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elizabeth-gordon/a-pronoun-too-will-aptly-reflect-the-number-of-its-antecedent-they/) [Karen Elizabeth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elizabeth-gordon/) > [It was Ronald Reagan who used to say that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are, "I'm from the federal government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/it-was-ronald-reagan-who-used-to-say-that-the-10-most-frightening/) [P. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [“Fine’s a funny word, don’t you think? I don’t think there’s another like it in the English language that says so much while actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-chase/fine-s-a-funny-word-don-t-you-think-i-don-t-think-there-s-another/) [Emma Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-chase/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. 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You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. 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Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/these-men-of-many-nations-must-be-taught-american-ways-the-english/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“Nevertheless . . was a word, certainly, but much more than a word, it was a concept. "Nevertheless" was what you said when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brunonia-barry/nevertheless-was-a-word-certainly-but-much-more-than-a-word-it-was-a/) [Brunonia Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brunonia-barry/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Hear me now or regret it later: Everything you write must be read aloud. Once all the context items are in place, this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiro-adachi/hear-me-now-or-regret-it-later-everything-you-write-must-be-read/) [Jiro Adachi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiro-adachi/) > [It was Ronald Reagan who used to say that the 10 most frightening words in the English language are, "I'm from the federal government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/it-was-ronald-reagan-who-used-to-say-that-the-10-most-frightening/) [P. J. 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The soaring inflation of the English language is more urgently in need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nunn/soundbite-and-slogan-strapline-and-headline-at-every-turn-we-meet/) [Trevor Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nunn/) [Browse all 686 English language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Words, too, have genuine substance -- mass and weight and specific gravity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-and-weight-and-specific-gravity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "English language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-and-weight-and-specific-gravity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ef/tim-o-brien-1818_english-language_words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-an_2711262.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Words, too, have genuine substance -- mass and weight and specific gravity.” — Tim O'Brien", "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": "Tim O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Words, too, have genuine substance --...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-and-weight-and-specific-gravity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/words-too-have-genuine-substance-mass-and-weight-and-specific-gravity/#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 } } ] } ```