brevity is the soul of wit
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Conciseness of expression is an essential characteristic of astute, perceptive, or witty remarks.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Sự ngắn gọn là đặc trưng của lời nói thông minh và sắc sảo
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
The same complaint must be made against Mr. Matthew's excellent survey of the theory of evolution, as against Dr. Erasmus Darwin's original exposition of the same theory, namely, that it is too short. It may be very true that brevity is the soul of wit, but the leaders of science will generally succ
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “brevity is the soul of wit” mean?
Conciseness of expression is an essential characteristic of astute, perceptive, or witty remarks.
Is “brevity is the soul of wit” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.