"The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech"
About this Quote
Adjectives look like help, but Clifton Fadiman is warning they’re often the slickest way a sentence can embarrass itself. Calling the adjective “the banana peel of the parts of speech” turns a grammar lesson into physical comedy: you can picture a writer striding confidently through a paragraph, only to hit a “very,” a “truly,” a “beautiful,” and go down hard. The joke lands because it reframes a familiar habit - dressing nouns up - as a hazard rather than an upgrade.
The intent isn’t anti-description; it’s anti-crutch. Adjectives are the easiest tool to reach for when you haven’t earned the image. They can be vague (“nice,” “amazing”), evaluative in place of evidence (“important,” “powerful”), or sentimental glue that tries to force a reader to feel something. Like a banana peel, they’re not inherently evil; they’re just what you get when something disposable is left in the path. The subtext is about discipline: precision beats decoration, and strong nouns and verbs can carry weight without a fog of modifiers.
Context matters: Fadiman was a midcentury American man of letters - editor, anthologist, radio personality - steeped in a culture that prized clarity, wit, and cultivated taste. His quip echoes that tradition’s suspicion of purple prose and advertising language, where adjectives pile up to simulate meaning. It’s also a sly status play: the confident writer doesn’t need to shout with “stunning” when they can simply show what stuns.
The intent isn’t anti-description; it’s anti-crutch. Adjectives are the easiest tool to reach for when you haven’t earned the image. They can be vague (“nice,” “amazing”), evaluative in place of evidence (“important,” “powerful”), or sentimental glue that tries to force a reader to feel something. Like a banana peel, they’re not inherently evil; they’re just what you get when something disposable is left in the path. The subtext is about discipline: precision beats decoration, and strong nouns and verbs can carry weight without a fog of modifiers.
Context matters: Fadiman was a midcentury American man of letters - editor, anthologist, radio personality - steeped in a culture that prized clarity, wit, and cultivated taste. His quip echoes that tradition’s suspicion of purple prose and advertising language, where adjectives pile up to simulate meaning. It’s also a sly status play: the confident writer doesn’t need to shout with “stunning” when they can simply show what stuns.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Later attribution: Journaling Solutions for Scrapbooks (Jennafer Martin, 2011) modern compilationISBN: 9781609002442 · ID: uyv5m6zV5PwC
Evidence:
... The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech . " -Clifton Paul Fadiman Once upon a time there was an outstanding boy named Nigel . He was a very activee boy who liked to do manyadventurasthings . Inside , Nigel liked to use ... |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Fadiman, Clifton Paul. (2026, March 23). The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-adjective-is-the-banana-peel-of-the-parts-of-110098/
Chicago Style
Fadiman, Clifton Paul. "The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech." FixQuotes. March 23, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-adjective-is-the-banana-peel-of-the-parts-of-110098/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech." FixQuotes, 23 Mar. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-adjective-is-the-banana-peel-of-the-parts-of-110098/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
More Quotes by Clifton
Add to List
