to say less and mean more
- idiom
- Great writers often say less and mean more through subtle details and implications.
Examples
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In negotiations, it's sometimes better to say less and mean more to make your intentions clear.
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She could say less and mean more with just a single look.
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You should say less and mean more in your speeches.
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Why can't he just say less and mean more?
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He always tries to say less and mean more during discussions, valuing clarity over verbosity.
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In her speech, she aimed to say less and mean more to ensure her message resonated deeply.
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To connect better with the audience, the speaker decided to say less and mean more by using powerful examples.
Synonyms
31
5.7
To show a lot without using words
Say something in a brief, critical way
How Concise
Surface Forms
Morphology
say + less + and + mean + more
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'say less' literally means to speak fewer words and 'mean more' literally means to have greater significance, with the contrast signaled by 'less'/'more' and joined by 'and'. This is a compositional, rhetorical instruction common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Say less and mean more comes from advice for writers and speakers: the idea is that a few clear words can show big ideas, like an artist who draws a face with one strong line. So when you say less and mean more, you use few words that carry a lot, which is why the phrase means 'to express a lot with few words'.