Quote

Never put the story in the lead. Let 'em have a hot shot of ambiguity right between the eyes.

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
Shots
Lead
Eyes
Story
Eye
Ambiguity
Stories
Ems
Right
Hot
Never
Shot

More quotes by William Safire

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Sometimes I know the meaning of a word but am tired of it and feel the need for an unfamiliar, especially precise or poetic term, perhaps one with a nuance that flatters my readership's exquisite sensitivity.
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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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You don't want lopsided government. You don't want one side running roughshod over the other.
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Have a definite opinion.
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The perfect Christmas gift for a sportscaster, as all fans of sports clichés know, is a scoreless tie.
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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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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 first ladyship is the only federal office in which the holder can neither be fired nor impeached.
William Safire
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By elevating your reading, you will improve your writing or at least tickle your thinking.
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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.
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Don't expect others to do your work for you.
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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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Carter is the best President the Soviet Union ever had.
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President Reagan is a rhetorical roundheels, as befits a politician seeking empathy with his audience.
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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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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
William Safire
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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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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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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
William Safire