Word to the Wise: Aphorism

An “aphorism” (AF-uh-riz-um) – from the Greek for “to define” – is a terse saying embodying a general truth or astute observation.

Example (as used by Ross Douthat in a New York Times review of Digital Barbarism: A Writer’s Manifesto by Mark Helprin): “[The book] is a vindication of the aphorism about the perils of wrestling with a pig. (You get dirty; the pig likes it.)”

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