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Home  »  Respectfully Quoted  »  Mark Twain (1835–1910)

Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.

 
NUMBER: 540
AUTHOR: Mark Twain (1835–1910)
QUOTATION: The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.
ATTRIBUTION: MARK TWAIN (Samuel L. Clemens).—George Bainton, The Art of Authorship, pp. 87–88 (1890).

Bainton asked leading authors for “literary reminiscences, methods of work, and advice to young beginners,” and compiled their answers to produce his book.
SUBJECTS: English language