Dan Levy Quotes

The ambiguities of language, both in terms of vocabulary and syntax, are fascinating: how important connotation is, what is lost and what is gained in the linguistic transition.

It depends on what the meaning of “is” is.

The more you try to pin a word down, the more you realize that it has its own cape, sword and little hat.

Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.

I guess I'm attracted to more archaic words because they can be imbued with more meaning, because their definition is elusive.

For me, words are just words, nothing else.

In common use almost every word has many shades of meaning, and therefore needs to be interpreted by the context.

I looked up 'standard' in the dictionary. There are eleven different definitions.

Drop a word in the ocean of meaning and concentric ripples form. To define a single word means to try to catch those ripples. No one’s hands are fast enough.

It all depends what you mean by.

Words have meaning. And their meaning doesn't change.

The way I write, words can means lots of different things.

Words take on many different meanings.

The secret of it is to read what you've got in front of you. Don't, if you suspect that something has a double meaning, don't pause. Don't put on a leery vocal expression if you know what I mean on radio. Don't sort of do anything other than read it.

At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.

Meaning is what essence becomes when it is divorced from the object of reference and wedded to the word.

I got sent some cheese once. I'm not sure if that was saying something about my act, or just because I like cheese.

Metaphor matters because it creates expectations.

Language is a mixture of statement and evocation.

I'm perplexed, though, by your application of the term 'negative' to my figural imagery.

Everything for me becomes allegory.

Metaphors, similes, puns - all manner of metonymy - I'm interested in language that cannot be parsed by a machine - language that can only be understood through acculturation.

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged. It is the skin of a living thought and may vary in color and context according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.

It's not in my nature to be too literal.

Words are a strange thing. You once saw an animal and decided it's a 'cat.' But cat is a sound. This cat has nothing to do with the animal. But I have decided it's a cat. So a cat it is.