pithy saying
Compact verbal insight
A pithy saying is a brief, memorable statement that expresses an idea cleverly or forcefully.
The phrase emphasizes conciseness—a pithy saying wastes no words while delivering its point: His grandfather was full of pithy sayings about hard work and patience.
Proverbs, maxims, and aphorisms are all types of pithy sayings.
- aphorismTerse general truth
- maximBrief moral principle
- adageTraditional pithy truth
- proverbTraditional saying expressing truth
- folk wisdomTraditional communal knowledge
wise words · quip · epigram · witticism · one liner · motto · truism · nugget · zinger · bon mot · pearl · nugget of wisdom · wisdom · sharp · terse · punchy · concise · clever
directness and clarity
pithy sayingcircumlocution
Indirect, wordy expression
digression · tangent · beating around the bush · obfuscation · purple prose
pithy, pith, pithier, pithiest, pithily, pithiness, says, said, saying