Jonathan Safran Foer

Jews have a special relationship to books, and the Haggadah has been translated more widely, and reprinted more often, than any other Jewish book. It is not a work of history or philosophy, not a prayer book, user's manual, timeline, poem or palimpsest - and yet it is all these things.

American Writer

Kevin Young

We quickly erase hoaxes once exposed, excising the monstrous palimpsest, because as with any witch hunt or obvious fake, afterward we can't quite explain why we ever believed the outrageous thing in the first place.

Thomas Chatterton Williams

Paris has long been a palimpsest of different cities, each new iteration grafted on top of the still visible last, spanning the extremes of human excellence and beauty and, just as crucially, filth and squalor.

American Critic

Russell Hoban

Language is an archaeological vehicle... the language we speak is a whole palimpsest of human effort and history.

American Novelist

A palimpsest often contains layers of history, giving insights into different time periods.

Historical Layers

Use 'palimpsest' in formal or academic discussions about history or manuscripts.

Academic Tone

'Palimpsest' implies physical changes, where original texts are scraped or washed off.

Physical Alteration

Palimpsest can be metaphorical, describing any entity with layered changes, not just writing.

Metaphoric Use

Used metaphorically, 'palimpsest' emphasizes the cultural significance of historical layers.

Cultural Significance

 So let's return to our question. Would the real Sherlock Holmes please stand up? The truth is that this world of adaptation has made him into a palimpsest. Sherlock is a cultural text, repeatedly altered over time as each new interpretation becomes superimposed

Who IS Sherlock Holmes -...

 Ahhhh. It is really -- I mean, I can't express to you how exquisite this object is. But I also know why it's exquisite to me, because it's a palimpsest of things. It's masses and masses of layers.