pithy

But, at least when the term is properly used, pithy when applied to a piece of writing is a high compliment, indicating that the language is simple and direct, without fluff or decoration, packing a maximum amount of meaning into a minimum amount of words. Pithy writing is the verbal equivalent of Saint-Exupéry's classic definition of good design, in engineering or other fields: "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing nothing more to take away."

Pith"y (?), a. [Compar. Pithier (?); superl. Pithiest.]

1.

Consisting wholly, or in part, of pith; abounding in pith; as, a pithy stem; a pithy fruit.

2.

Having nervous energy; forceful; cogent.

This pithy speech prevailed, and all agreed. Dryden.

In all these Goodman Fact was very short, but pithy. Addison.

Pithy gall Zool., a large, rough, furrowed, oblong gall, formed on blackberry canes by a small gallfly (Diastrophus nebulosus).

© Webster 1913.