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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.

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
Articulation
Rescue
Impossible
Comes

More quotes by William Safire

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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
William Safire
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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.
William Safire
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At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
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Avoid overuse of 'quotation “marks.”'
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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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No one flower can ever symbolize this nation. America is a bouquet.
William Safire
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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.
William Safire
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I want my questions answered by an alert and experienced politician, prepared to be grilled and quoted -- not my hand held by an old smoothie.
William Safire
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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.
William Safire
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Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
William Safire
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When duty calls, that is when character counts.
William Safire
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Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.
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I think we have a need to know what we do not need to know.
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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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A book should have an intellectual shape and a heft that comes with dealing with a primary subject.
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George Washington had a tough second term.
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It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
William Safire
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Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
William Safire
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Color and bite permeate a language designed to rally many men, to destroy some, and to change the minds of others.
William Safire
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I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.
William Safire