Short Words Shed Light

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Many great texts in Scripture use short, sharp words

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good … (Genesis 1:3-4).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son … (John 3:16)

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:29-30)

Many mottos and proverbs have short words

In God we trust

If it is to be, it is up to me (William Johnson).

You are what you think about all day long (Robert Schuller)

Do no harm (Hippocratic Oath)

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Spare the rod and spoil the child.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Rome was not built in a day.

One thing at a time.

Eyes on the prize.

Seize the day. (Carpe Diem)

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can. (John Wesley)

The Case for Short Words

When you speak and write, no law says you have to use big words. Short words are as good as long ones, and short, old words – like sun and grass and home – are best of all. A lot of small words, more than you might think, can meet your needs with a strength, grace and charm that large words do not have.

Big words can make the way dark for those who read what you write and hear what you say. Small words cast their clear light on big things – night and day, love and hate, war and peace, and life and death. Big words at times seem strange to the eye and the ear and the mind and the heart. They add fat to your prose. Small words are the ones we seem to have known from the time we were born. They are like the hearth fire that warms the home.

Short words are bright, like sparks that glow in the night, prompt like the dawn that greets the day, sharp like the blade of a knife, hot like salt tears that scald the cheek, quick like moths that flit from flame to flame, and terse like the dart and sting of a bee.

Here is a sound rule: Use small, old words where you can. If a long word says just what you want, do not fear to use it. But know that our tongue is rich in crisp, brisk, swift, short words. Make them the spine and the heart of what you speak and write. Short words are like fast friends. They will not let you down.

From: Richard Lederer, 1991, The Miracle of Language. New York: Pocket Books, pp 30-31.
I used this quote often in my work as a teacher to help students be more clear in their work!