Everything that can be said, can be said clearly. Ludwig Wittgenstein
The simpler you say it, the more eloquent it is. August Wilson
Good prose is like a window pane. George Orwell
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. George Orwell
When the meaning is unclear there is no meaning. Marty Rubin
The cliché is the handrail of the crippled mind. Spike Milligan
The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them. Philip K. Dick
Abuses of Speech: First, when men register their thoughts wrong by the inconstancy of the signification of their words; by which they register for their conceptions that which they never conceived, and so deceive themselves. Secondly, when they use words metaphorically; that is, in other sense than that they are ordained for, and thereby deceive others. Thirdly, when by words they declare that to be their will which is not. Fourthly, when they use them to grieve one another. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
We want to create a sort of linguistic Lourdes, where evil and misfortune are dispelled by a dip in the waters of euphemism. Robert Hughes, Culture of Complaint
Obscurity often brings safety. Aesop's Fables: The Tree and the Reed
Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence. Robert Heinlein
The old repeat themselves and the youth have nothing to say. The boredom is mutual. Jacques Bainville
Accustom thyself to attend carefully to what is said by another, and as much as it is possible, be in the speaker's mind. Marcus Aurelius
To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now. Woodrow Wilson
Good things, when short, are twice as good. Gracian
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible. George Burns
A good sermon should be like a woman's skirt: short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials. Ronald Knox
In most instances, all an argument proves is that two people are present. Tony Petito
Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance. Robert Quillen
Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness. Margaret Millar
Where in this small-talking world can I find / A longitude with no platitude? Christopher Fry, The Lady's not for Burning
The first ingredient in conversation is truth: the next good sense; the third, good humour; and the fourth wit. William Temple
The honourable member's speech reminds me of Columbus. When he set out, he didn't know where he was going, when he got there he didn't know where he was and when he returned home he didn't know where he'd been. Winston Churchill
MacDonald has the gift of compressing the largest amount of words into the smallest amount of thought. Winston Churchill
Vacuity, obscurity, ambiguity and pomposity are not much less difficult than their opposites. Winston Churchill
The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech. George Bernard Shaw
His speeches leave the impression of an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea. Sometimes these meandering words would actually capture a struggling thought and bear it triumphantly a prisoner in their midst until it died of servitude and overwork. William McAdoo about Warren G. Harding
Though he tortures the English language, he has never yet succeeded in forcing it to reveal its meaning. J.B. Morton
The secret of being a bore is to tell everything. Voltaire
Blessed is he who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving evidence of that fact. George Eliot
A man is known by the silence he keeps. Oliver Herford
Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. Robert Benchley (Attrib.)
This film wasn't released: it escaped. James Caan
The film Bolero is intended to be erotic, but it verges on the emetic. Christopher Tookey