Quote

To communicate, put your words in order give them a purpose use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.

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
Give
Persuade
Giving
Clarity
Discover
Communicate
Purpose
Words
Seduce
Use
Instruct
Order
Seducing

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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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The new, old, and constantly changing language of politics is a lexicon of conflict and drama?ridicule and reproach?pleading and persuasion.
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No one flower can ever symbolize this nation. America is a bouquet.
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When duty calls, that is when character counts.
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The CEO era gave rise to the CFO (not certified flying object, as you might imagine, but chief financial officer) and, most recently, the CIO, chief investment officer, a nice boost for the bookkeeper you can't afford to give a raise . . .
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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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One difference between French appeasement and American appeasement is that France pays ransom in cash and gets its hostages back while the United States pays ransom in arms and gets additional hostages taken.
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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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A book should have an intellectual shape and a heft that comes with dealing with a primary subject.
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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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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
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A reader should be able to identify a column without its byline or funny little picture on top purely by look or feel, or its turgidity ratio.
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Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere challenge to them.
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I'm a right-wing pundit and have been for many years.
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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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A reader ought to be able to hold it and become familiar with its organized contents and make it a mind's manageable companion.
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Gridlock is great. My motto is, 'Don't just do something. Stand there.'
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Cast aside any column about two subjects. It means the pundit chickened out on the hard decision about what to write about that day.
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When your government, employer, landlord, merchant, banker and local sports team gang up to picture, digitize and permanently record your every activity, you are placed under unprecedented control.
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Dangling punch lines to forgotten stories remain in the language like the smile of the Cheshire cat.
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