"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."
— Words

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

Mark Twain, letter to George Bainton, 15 October 1888, solicited for and printed in George Bainton, The Art of Authorship: Literary Reminiscences, Methods of Work, and Advice to Young Beginners (1890), pp. 87–88. (Twain adapts a metaphor due to Josh Billings, from Josh Billings' Old Farmer's Allminax, "January 1871").