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I never write "metropolis" for seven cents when I can write "city" and get paid the same.
Mark Twain
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the value of simplicity and the idea that one can achieve the same results with less complexity.

In this quote, Mark Twain expresses a humorous yet insightful perspective on the value of simplicity in communication. He suggests that there is no need to overcomplicate language or ideas when a simpler word serves the same purpose, emphasizing the practicality of choosing clarity over complexity in writing and expression.

Themes

SimplicityWritingCommunicationClarityPracticality

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker might use this quote to advocate for clear and straightforward communication in a presentation.

More from Mark Twain

Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
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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.
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You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
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To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
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Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
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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.
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A little wisdom, now and then

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