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At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.

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
Point
Use
Certain
Mean
People
Meaning
Becomes
Word

More quotes by William Safire

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It is in the nature of tyranny to deride the will of the people as the voice of the mob, and to denounce the cry for freedom as the roar of anarchy.
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When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.
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On the analogy of 'Dictionary Johnson,' we call Fred R. Shapiro, editor of the just-published Yale Book of Quotations (well worth the $50 price), 'Quotationeer Shapiro.' Shapiro does original research, earning his 1,067-page volume a place on the quotation shelf next to Bartlett's and Oxford's.
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I think we have a need to know what we do not need to know.
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After eating, an epicure gives a thin smile of satisfaction a gastronome, burping into his napkin, praises the food in a magazine a gourmet, repressing his burp, criticizes the food in the same magazine a gourmand belches happily and tells everybody where he ate a glutton empraces the white porcelain alter, or more plainly, he barfs.
William Safire
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I'm a right-wing pundit and have been for many years.
William Safire
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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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Gridlock is great. My motto is, 'Don't just do something. Stand there.'
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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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The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.
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President Reagan is a rhetorical roundheels, as befits a politician seeking empathy with his audience.
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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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The most fun in breaking a rule is in knowing what rule you're breaking.
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This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and have some impact.
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One challenge to the arts in America is the need to make the arts, especially the classic masterpieces, accessible and relevant to today's audience.
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The most successful column is one that causes the reader to throw down the paper in a peak of fit.
William Safire
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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.
William Safire
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To be accused of 'channeling' is to be dismissed as a ventriloquist's live dummy, derogated at not having a mind of one's own.
William Safire
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Never feel guilty about reading, it's what you do to do your job.
William Safire
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I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.
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