Quote

Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. And don't start a sentence with a conjugation.

William Safire

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William Safire
Age: 79 †
Born: 1929
Born: December 17
Died: 2009
Died: September 27
Author
Columnist
Journalist
Writer
New York City
New York
William Lewis Safire
Voice
Splits
Words
Passive
Form
Carefully
Remember
Sentence
Used
Statements
Never
Sentences
Negative
Infinitive
Start
Split

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A dependent clause is like a dependent child: incapable of standing on its own but able to cause a lot of trouble.
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To 'know your place' is a good idea in politics. That is not to say 'stay in your place' or 'hang on to your place', because ambition or boredom may dictate upward or downward mobility, but a sense of place - a feel for one's own position in the control room-is useful in gauging what you should try to do.
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Adjective salad is delicious, with each element contributing its individual and unique flavor but a puree of adjective soup tastes yecchy.
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President Reagan is a rhetorical roundheels, as befits a politician seeking empathy with his audience.
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The wonderful thing about being a New York Times columnist is that it's like a Supreme Court appointment - they're stuck with you for a long time.
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Why use a modifier to set straight a not-quite-right noun when the right noun is available?
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Never look for the story in the 'lede.' Reporters are required to put what's happened up top, but the practiced pundit places a nugget of news, even a startling insight, halfway down the column, directed at the politiscenti. When pressed for time, the savvy reader starts there.
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Never put the story in the lead. Let 'em have a hot shot of ambiguity right between the eyes.
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I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.
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Writers who used to show off their erudition no longer sing in the bare ruined choir of the media.
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At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
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Nobody stands taller than those willing to stand corrected.
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When duty calls, that is when character counts.
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Have a definite opinion.
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Took me a while to get to the point today, but that is because I did not know what the point was when I started.
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A man who lies, thinking it is the truth, is an honest man, and a man who tells the truth, believing it to be a lie, is a liar.
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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
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Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year.
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If America cannot win a war in a week, it begins negotiating with itself.
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Sir Alec Douglas-Home, when he was British Foreign Secretary, said he received the following telegram from an irate citizen: To hell with you. Offensive letter follows.
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