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Mark Twain supposedly said: Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'. Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should
by me_again 4y ago
Mark Twain supposedly said:
Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'. Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
- dang 4y agohttps://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/08/29/substitute-damn/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/08/29/substitute-damn/
- zimpenfish 4y agoI'll give William Allen White this - of the available text on [1], I could only find one use of "very"[2] as an emphasiser which makes him somewhat of an outlier in the prescriptivist world (following his own advice.) [1] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:William_Allen_White https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:William_Allen_White [2] "It is a very important factor that he must weigh soberly ..."
- makeitdouble 4y agoQuotes don't need the potential author cited. Your advice works whoever told it, especially if you actually stand behind it and we'll take it as your word then.
- account42 4y agoYou don't think its relevant that advice about writing (purportedly) comes from an established writer? Not to mention that giving people credit is always laudable and should be done much more, not less.
- makeitdouble 4y agoFamous people say a lot of things and any random advice coming from an authoritative figure is not guaranted to be insightful. On top of that quotes are massively taken out of context and misattributed (this one probably is) That to me makes the whole quoting one liners format useless if the quote doesn't stand on its own(except when it's used ironically?)