William Safire





William Safire

Author profile


born
in New York, New York, The United States
December 17, 1929

died
September 27, 2009

gender
male

genre


About this author

William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter.

He was perhaps best known as a long-time syndicated political columnist for the New York Times and a regular contributor to "On Language" in the New York Times Magazine, a column on popular etymology, new or unusual usages, and other language-related topics.


Average rating: 3.93 · 1,178 ratings · 129 reviews · 37 distinct works · Similar authors
Freedom: A Novel of Abraham...
4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 274 ratings — published 1987 — 6 editions
Scandalmonger
3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 203 ratings — published 2000 — 12 editions
Lend Me Your Ears: Great Sp...
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 148 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions
On Language
3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 1980 — 3 editions
How Not to Write: The Essen...
3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 avg rating — 60 ratings — published 2005
Full Disclosure
3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 1977 — 4 editions
No Uncertain Terms: More Wr...
3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2003 — 7 editions
Fumblerules: A lighthearted...
3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 1990 — 3 editions
The Right Word in the Right...
3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2004 — 7 editions
In Love with Norma Loquendi
4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1994 — 3 editions
More books by William Safire…
“Not long ago, I advertised for perverse rules of grammar, along the lines of "Remember to never split an infinitive" and "The passive voice should never be used." The notion of making a mistake while laying down rules ("Thimk," "We Never Make Misteaks") is highly unoriginal, and it turns out that English teachers have been circulating lists of fumblerules for years. As owner of the world's largest collection, and with thanks to scores of readers, let me pass along a bunch of these never-say-neverisms:

* Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
* Don't use no double negatives.
* Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn't.
* Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed.
* Do not put statements in the negative form.
* Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
* No sentence fragments.
* Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
* Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
* If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
* A writer must not shift your point of view.
* Eschew dialect, irregardless.
* And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
* Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!
* Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
* Writers should always hyphenate between syllables and avoid un-necessary hyph-ens.
* Write all adverbial forms correct.
* Don't use contractions in formal writing.
* Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
* It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms.
* If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
* Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the language.
* Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors.
* Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
* Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
* Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
* If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, resist hyperbole.
* Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.
* Don't string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
* Always pick on the correct idiom.
* "Avoid overuse of 'quotation "marks."'"
* The adverb always follows the verb.
* Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives."

(New York Times, November 4, 1979; later also published in book form)”
William Safire, Fumblerules: A lighthearted guide to grammar and good usage

“Never assume the obvious is true.”
William Safire

“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

Polls

28757
HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "D"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests. You will only receive one notification per poll. There will be simultaneous polls so please make sure to vote in each one.

The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome 1) Colleen McCullough Colleen McCullough

THE FIRST MAN IN ROME BY COLLEEN MCCULLOUGH
 
  10 votes, 26.3%

The Crimson Petal and the White Michel Faber Michel Faber

THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE BY MICHEL FABER
 
  5 votes, 13.2%

Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1) Jacqueline Winspear Jacqueline Winspear

MAISIE DOBBS BY JACQUELINE WINSPEAR
 
  4 votes, 10.5%

Roma  The Novel of Ancient Rome Steven Saylor Steven Saylor

ROMA: THE NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME BY STEVEN SAYLOR
 
  3 votes, 7.9%

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke Susanna Clarke

JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL BY SUSANNA CLARK
 
  3 votes, 7.9%

The Hornet's Nest Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter

THE HORNET'S NEST BY JIMMY CARTER
 
  2 votes, 5.3%

Drums Along the Mohawk (New York Classics) Walter D. Edmonds

DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK BY WALTER D. EDMONDS
 
  2 votes, 5.3%

I, Claudius Robert Graves Robert Graves

I. CLAUDIUS BY ROBERT GRAVES
 
  2 votes, 5.3%

Possession  A Romance A.S. Byatt A.S. Byatt

POSSESSION: A ROMANCE BY A. S. BYATT
 
  2 votes, 5.3%

Freedom  A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil WarWilliam Safire William Safire

FREEDOM: A NOVEL OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY WILLIAM SAFIRE
 
  2 votes, 5.3%

A Conspiracy of Paper David Liss David Liss

A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER BY DAVID LISS
 
  2 votes, 5.3%

I, Elizabeth  A Novel Rosalind Miles Rosalind Miles

I. ELIZABETH: A NOVEL BY ROSALIND MILES
 
  1 vote, 2.6%

Girl in a Blue Dress Gaynor Arnold

GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS BY GAYNOR ARNOLD
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake #1)C.J. Sansom C.J. Sansom

DISSOLUTION BY C.J SANSOM
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

The Course of Honor Lindsey Davis

THE COURSE OF HONOR BY LINDSEY DAVIS
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

9 comments
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
The History Book ...: HISTORICAL FICTION POLLS 6 151 Jan 21, 2010 12:04am  
The History Book ...: * INTRODUCTION 59 284 May 14, 2012 09:23am  
The History Book ...: HF - NOMINATIONS 73 239 May 17, 2012 10:09pm  
The History Book ...: SPEECHES 17 15 May 04, 2013 04:32pm  
Gigi's Company: Author Alphabet 2329 1164 May 16, 2013 09:57am  
Gigi's Company: Author - Title Game 2070 720 May 16, 2013 10:02am  
The History Book ...: TODAY IN THE NEWS 1931 731 22 hours, 31 min ago