APAD: Brevity is the soul of wit

Brevity is the soul of wit

Conciseness of expression is an essential characteristic of astute, perceptive, or witty remarks.

Coined by William Shakespeare in 1602 in "Hamlet," act 2, scene 2:

Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief: your noble son is mad...

 

In real life, I tend to be brief, I am also good at killing a chat, never thought it a witty characteristic. 

 

 

 

所有跟帖： 

• agreed wrt U :-)). and the bard of avon was really witty in -最西边的岛上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 05:05:02

• his "Hamlet", as Polonius himself is not brief @all.;-))) -最西边的岛上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 05:05:31

• Super wordy instead. -移花接木- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/29/2024 postreply 05:19:00

• I itch to spiel, but pack it in a sentence, -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 08:27:55

• not out of wit, but to hide my ignorance. -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 08:28:18

• I do it by keeping my lips tight -移花接木- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 08:33:49

• I do it by keeping my ears shut (they r 23% deaf anyway ;-) -最西边的岛上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 08:59:41

• Sometimes I give up: I'm not smart anyway. 破罐子破摔了 :-)) -7grizzly- ♂ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 09:02:49

• oneDoesn'tTalk, oneCan'tHear, and one破罐子破摔 :-)))) 笑死人不偿命 -最西边的岛上- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 09:09:07

• haha, "killing a chat", 真有这种说法吗？ -天边一片白云- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/28/2024 postreply 16:18:54

• Yes, from now on -移花接木- ♂ (167 bytes) () 08/29/2024 postreply 05:19:41