William Safire Quotes

Quotes about:

• Nobody stands taller than those willing to stand corrected.

  William Safire

  Humble, Humility, Catchy

  62 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Safire

  Editing, Long, Sound

  55 Copy quote

• Never assume the obvious is true.

  William Safire

  Truth, Obviousness, Peer Pressure

  86 Copy quote

• 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

  Voice, People, Anarchy

  27 Copy quote

• The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.

  William Safire

  Honesty, Integrity, Character

  26 Copy quote

• When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.

  William Safire

  Impossible, Rescue, Articulation

  34 Copy quote

• If you want to "get in touch with your feelings," fine, talk to yourself. We all do. But if you want to communicate with another thinking human being, get in touch with your thoughts. Put them in order, give them a purpose, use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce. The secret way to do this is to write it down, and then cut out the confusing parts.

  William Safire

  Writing, Cutting, Thinking

  29 Copy quote

• When duty calls, that is when character counts.

  William Safire

  Character, Duty

  "'Lov'd I Not Honor More'" by William Safire, www.nytimes.com. May 23, 1986.

  5 Copy quote

• Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

  William Safire

  Ignorance, Thought Provoking, Empathy

  William Safire (1981). “On language”

  9 Copy quote

• A dependent clause is like a dependent child: incapable of standing on its own but able to cause a lot of trouble.

  William Safire

  Children, Able, Causes

  "On Language: The Wicked Which and the Comma" by William Safire, www.nytimes.com. September 2, 1984.

  8 Copy quote

• As long as one American is hungry... then we have unfinished business in this country.

  William Safire

  Country, Unfinished Business, Long

  "If There's One Hungry American". www.nytimes.com. December 18, 1983.

  28 Copy quote

• Gridlock is great. My motto is, 'Don't just do something. Stand there.'

  William Safire

  Politics, Motto, Gridlock

  9 Copy quote

• Have a definite opinion.

  William Safire

  Opinion, Definite

  7 Copy quote

• Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.

  William Safire

  English Grammar, Perfect, Perfection

  William Safire (2011). “Watching My Language:: Adventures in the Word Trade”, p.383, Random House

  23 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Safire

  Passive Voice, Negative, Splits

  15 Copy quote

• The Latin motto over Poindexter's new Pentagon office reads Scientia Est Potentia - "knowledge is power." Exactly: the government's infinite knowledge about you is its power over you.

  William Safire

  Latin, Government, Office

  18 Copy quote

• I think we have a need to know what we do not need to know.

  William Safire

  Thinking, Needs, Knows

  "On Language; CLASS CLEAVAGE" by William Safire, www.nytimes.com. June 1, 1986.

  13 Copy quote

• To communicate, put your words in order; give them a purpose; use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.

  William Safire

  Order, Giving, Purpose

  5 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Safire

  Today, Knows

  William Safire (1988). “You could look it up: more on language”, Crown

  4 Copy quote

• A man who lies, thinking it is the truth, is an honest man, and a man who tells the truth, believing it to be a lie, is a liar.

  William Safire

  Liars, Lying, Believe

  Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House prologue (1975)

  16 Copy quote

• Writers who used to show off their erudition no longer sing in the bare ruined choir of the media.

  William Safire

  Media, Choir, Used

  "Channeling" by William Safire, www.nytimes.com. September 03, 2009.

  16 Copy quote

• Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

  William Safire

  Lasts, Cliche, Plague

  William Safire (1991). “Fumblerules: a lighthearted guide to grammar and good usage”, Laurel

  17 Copy quote

• Don't expect others to do your work for you.

  William Safire

  Work

  4 Copy quote

• Give your main clause a little space. Prose is not like boxing; the skilled writer deliberately telegraphs his punch, knowing that the reader wants to take the message directly on the chin.

  William Safire

  Knowing, Space, Boxing

  William Safire (1991). “Fumblerules: a lighthearted guide to grammar and good usage”, Laurel

  8 Copy quote

• The most fun in breaking a rule is in knowing what rule you're breaking.

  William Safire

  Fun, Knowing

  William Safire (1981). “On language”

  7 Copy quote

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