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Authors:

William Safire quotes

American Author December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009

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Quotes

The tension between the governed and the governing is what makes the world go 'round. It's not love, it's that tension, because that tension exists in love affairs. The whole idea of control is at the heart of human relationships. Control and resistance to control. William Safire
What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia to the political world by Henry Kissinger and now bandied in the boardroom is colleague. It has a nice upper-egalitarian feel, related to the good fellowship of collegial. William Safire
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. William Safire
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. William Safire
William Safire quote: "If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great..."
If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing. William Safire
Do not put statements in the negative form. And don't start sentences with a conjunction. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that agreat deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all. De-accession euphemisms. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague. William Safire
Adapt your style, if you wish, to admit the color of slang or freshness of neologism, but hang tough on clarity, precision, structure, grace. William Safire
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. William Safire
William Safire quote: "Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is..."
Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight. William Safire
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. William Safire
Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year. William Safire
I welcome new words, or old words used in new ways, provided the result is more precision, added color or greater expressiveness. William Safire
Stop worrying about the 'dumbing down' of our language by bloggers, tweeters, cableheads and MSM thumbsuckers engaged in a 'race to the bottom' of the page by little minds confined to little words. William Safire
William Safire quote: "A book should have an intellectual shape and a heft that comes..."
A book should have an intellectual shape and a heft that comes with dealing with a primary subject. William Safire
Today, war of necessity is used by critics of military action to describe unavoidable response to an attack like that on Pearl Harbor that led to our prompt, official declaration of war, while they characterize as unwise wars of choice the wars in Korea, Vietnam and the current war in Iraq. William Safire

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