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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.
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
Nature
Deride
People
Denounce
Roar
Anarchy
Tyranny
Cry
Freedom
Voice
More quotes by William Safire
If America cannot win a war in a week, it begins negotiating with itself.
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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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President Reagan is a rhetorical roundheels, as befits a politician seeking empathy with his audience.
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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
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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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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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Never assume the obvious is true.
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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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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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Do not be taken in by 'insiderisms.' Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as 'lede.' Where they lede, do not follow.
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At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
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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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The most fun in breaking a rule is in knowing what rule you're breaking.
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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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Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.
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We are all environmentalists now, but we are not all planetists. An environmentalist realizes that nature has its pleasures and deserves respect. A planetist puts the earth ahead of the earthlings.
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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 trick is to start early in our careers the stress-relieving avocation that we will need later as a mind-exercising final vocation. We can quit a job, but we quit fresh involvement at our mental peril.
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Adapt your style, if you wish, to admit the color of slang or freshness of neologism, but hang tough on clarity, precision, structure, grace.
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