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Dangling punch lines to forgotten stories remain in the language like the smile of the Cheshire cat.

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
Cat
Remain
Forgotten
Smile
Lines
Language
Cheshire
Stories
Dangling
Like
Punch

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If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing.
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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.
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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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Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
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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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In lieu of those checks and balances central to our legal system, non-citizens face an executive that is now investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and jailer or executioner. In an Orwellian twist, Bush's order calls this Soviet-style abomination 'a full and fair trial.'
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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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Nobody stands taller than those willing to stand corrected.
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What a joy it is to see really professional media manipulation.
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The tension between the governed and the governing is what makes the world go 'round. It's not love, it's that tension, because that tension exists in love affairs. The whole idea of control is at the heart of human relationships. Control and resistance to control.
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Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.
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Better to be a jerk that knees than a knee that jerks.
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Gridlock is great. My motto is, 'Don't just do something. Stand there.'
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Never assume the obvious is true.
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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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Have a definite opinion.
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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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It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
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The first ladyship is the only federal office in which the holder can neither be fired nor impeached.
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