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Mark Twain said "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one". Seems like what's happening here.
by djbusby 3y ago
Mark Twain said "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one". Seems like what's happening here.
- fanf2 3y agoPascal, not Twain https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/28/shorter-letter/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/28/shorter-letter/
- djbusby 3y agoTIL, thanks! But also,Mark is credited, and where I heard it first.
- fanf2 3y agoQuote Investigator says: > Mark Twain who is often connected to this saying did not use it according to the best available research, but one of his tangentially related quotations is given later for your entertainment. > In 1871 Mark Twain wrote a letter to a friend that included a remark about the length of his note. Twain’s comment did not really match the quotation under investigation but it is related to the general theme:[ref] 1871 June 15, Letter from Mark Twain to James Redpath, Elmira, New York, UCCL 00617 (Union Catalog of Clemens Letters), Mark Twain Project Online. (Accessed marktwainproject.org on 2012 April 24) link[/ref] quoting Twain: >> You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.