Heads overfull of matter, be like pens over full of ink, which will sooner blot, than make any fair letters at all.

— Ascham's Schoolmaster [from Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language]

Author

Ascham's Schoolmaster [from Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language]

Work Title

Blot [from A Dictionary of the English Language in Which Words are Deduced from their Originals, and Illustrated in their Different Significations by Examples from the best Writers.]

Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Strahan [etc.]
Date
1755
Metaphor
Heads overfull of matter, be like pens over full of ink, which will sooner blot, than make any fair letters at all.
Metaphor in Context
Heads overfull of matter, be like pens over full of ink, which will sooner blot, than make any fair letters at all.
Categories
Writing::Blotting
Provenance
Reading Johnson's and Bailey's dictionaries
Citation
Johnson, Samuel. A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words Are Deduced from Their Originals, and Illustrated in Their Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers. To Which Are Prefixed, a History of the Language, and an English Grammar. New York,: AMS Press, 1967.
Date of Entry
03/28/2005

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.