“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.”

— Mark Twain

Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

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Mark Twain 637

American author and humorist 1835–1910

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“It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.”

Andrew Johnson (1808–1875) American politician, 17th president of the United States (in office from 1865 to 1869)

More commonly misattributed to Andrew Jackson, the originator of this line is actually unknown.
Misattributed

“I don't give a damn for a man who can only spell a word one way.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Unsourced in POP!: Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything (2006) by Sam Horn.
Disputed

“Only those who have never known fear are allowed to think less of others for being afraid. Frankly, I think anyone who has never been afraid of anything in their entire life is either a liar or lacks imagination.”

Laurell K. Hamilton (1963) Novelist

“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.”

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet

Variant: Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.

“Of what help is anyone who can only be approached with the right words?”

Elizabeth Bibesco (1897–1945) writer, actress; Romanian princess

Haven (1951)

“What can be said, lacks reality. Only what fails to make its way into words exists and counts.”

Emil M. Cioran (1911–1995) Romanian philosopher and essayist

Drawn and Quartered (1983)

“These notices had been written by Christopher Robin, who was the only one in the forest who could spell; for Owl, wise though he was in many ways, able to read and write and spell his own name WOL, yet somehow went all to pieces over delicate words like MEASLES and BUTTEREDTOAST.”

A.A. Milne book Winnie-the-Pooh

Source: Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), Chapter Four.

“It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word.”

Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) American general and politician, 7th president of the United States

Sometimes reported as having been a retort to statements of his political rival, John Quincy Adams, who had boycotted Harvard University's awarding of a Doctorate of Laws degree to Jackson in 1833, declaring "I would not be present to witness her [Harvard's] disgrace in conferring her highest literary honors on a barbarian who could not write a sentence of grammar and could hardly spell his own name." Quoted in News Reporting and Writing 4th edition (1987) by M. Mencher.
Unsourced variant: Never trust a man who has only one way to spell a word.
Likely misattributed http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/25/spelling/

“And he respects Owl, because you can't help respecting anyone who can spell Tuesday, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count.”

A.A. Milne book The House at Pooh Corner

Source: The House at Pooh Corner (1928), Chapter Five - Rabbit, speaking of Christopher Robin.

“The story of the English writing system is so intriguing, and the histories behind individual words so fascinating, that anyone who dares to treat spelling as an adventure will find the journey rewarding.”

David Crystal (1941) British linguist and writer

David Crystal. Spell It Out: The singular story of English spelling. 2012. p. 277-8

“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.”

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