It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education - sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The mastery of language involves more than just skill; sometimes it relies on chance.
E. B. White's quote highlights the idea that proficiency in English and effective communication can't always be attributed solely to one's education or innate judgment. Instead, it acknowledges that circumstance and luck can play significant roles in our ability to convey thoughts and ideas effectively, much like navigating safely across a busy street where many unpredictable factors come into play.
Themes
LanguageCommunicationLuckEducationProficiency
In practice
Example use cases
During a public speaking event to emphasize the unpredictable nature of language mastery.
More from E. B. White
All quotes βIt isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
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The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
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A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
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A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
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All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
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