William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II, sc. ii.
• Parodied as the Reading Digest slogan "Brevity is...wit.", in The Simpsons, "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", written by George Meyer, (September 26, 1991)
• Parodies by Dorothy Parker as "Brevity is the soul of Lingerie."Brevity Is the Soul of Lingerie, at: 14 January 2021

Brevity is the soul of wit.

— William Shakespeare on Brevity

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Brevity is the soul of wit." in the context of "William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II, sc. ii.
• Parodied as the Reading Digest slogan "Brevity is...wit.", in The Simpsons, "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", written by George Meyer, (September 26, 1991)
• Parodies by Dorothy Parker as "Brevity is the soul of Lingerie."Brevity Is the Soul of Lingerie, at: 14 January 2021" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Brevity" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
William Shakespeare

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.