"My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
What day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief."
What majesty should be, what duty is,
What day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief."
— Polonius, Hamlet Act II Scene II Line 85-92
Adding more words to something doesn't justify it: in fact, the more you write, the more they can't read. Avoid Word Cruft, Purple Prose and empty descriptions in writing your examples or engaging in conversation.
Conversely, however, Zero Context Examples or a noun followed by "That is all/Enough said" is useless as well as boring. The use of few words isn't witty when they're the same few words with no meaning pertaining to the subject.
This is the motto of Laconic Wiki. For use of this guideline as a trope, see Beige Prose.
Polonius does not follow his own advice. Most don't realize.
