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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.

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
Exercise
Fresh
Relieving
Careers
Tricks
Exercising
Start
Final
Peril
Jobs
Finals
Involvement
Need
Stress
Vocation
Needs
Mental
Trick
Mind
Later
Quit
Early
Quitting
Avocation

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English is a stretch language one size fits all.
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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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Never put the story in the lead. Let 'em have a hot shot of ambiguity right between the eyes.
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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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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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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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Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
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The wonderful thing about being a New York Times columnist is that it's like a Supreme Court appointment - they're stuck with you for a long time.
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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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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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Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.
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Better to be a jerk that knees than a knee that jerks.
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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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Writers who used to show off their erudition no longer sing in the bare ruined choir of the media.
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