Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Don't use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.
Interpretation
Simplicity in language is often more effective than complexity.
Mark Twain suggests that one should choose simpler words over unnecessarily complex ones, as this makes communication clearer and more accessible. The quote reflects Twain's wit and his belief in the importance of straightforwardness in expression.
In practice
In a speech about effective communication, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of clear language.
Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
No clowns were funny. That was the whole purpose of a clown. People laughed at clowns, but only out of nervousness. The point of clowns was that, after watching them, anything else that happened seemed enjoyable
A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.
I think a playful critique is good for all of us, and that's basically how I see satire functioning. But I'm not interested in a kind of contemptuous satirical vision; I try always, even when I'm knowingly being satirical, to also be humane, but I mean, let's face it: there's plenty in American life to make fun of, and we all participate in it.
It is very vulgar to talk about one's own business. Only people like stockbrokers do that, and then only at dinner parties.
It is a much cleverer thing to talk nonsense than to listen to it.
The car suddenly veered off the road and we came to a sliding halt in the gravel. I was hurled against the dashboard. My attorney was slumped over the wheel. βWhatβs wrong?β I yelled. βWe canβt stop here. This is bat country!
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