William Safire
William Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth17 December 1929
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
flower america bouquets
No one flower can ever symbolize this nation. America is a bouquet....
order judging style
In lieu of those checks and balances central to our legal system, non-citizens face an executive that is now investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and jailer or executioner. In an Orwellian twist, Bush's order calls this Soviet-style abomination 'a full and fair trial.
writing long use
It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
ignorance care speech
Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
white giving culture
After eating, an epicure gives a thin smile of satisfaction; a gastronome, burping into his napkin, praises the food in a magazine; a gourmet, repressing his burp, criticizes the food in the same magazine; a gourmand belches happily and tells everybody where he ate; a glutton empraces the white porcelain alter, or more plainly, he barfs.
leader causes strategy
Of higher value than any one leader is the cause.
editing long negative
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 a great 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.
today knows
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.
passive-voice splits negative
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.
libertarian willing
I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.
writing mean two
Cast aside any column about two subjects. It means the pundit chickened out on the hard decision about what to write about that day.
gratitude appreciation knowing
Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
color way welcome
I welcome new words, or old words used in new ways, provided the result is more precision, added color or greater expressiveness.
work
Don't expect others to do your work for you.