Here, we’ve compiled a list of the best William Safire Quotes. Let’s look at these pieces of wisdom. We definitely have something to learn from them!
1
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.
2
When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.
3
When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
4
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.
5
Writers who used to show off their erudition no longer sing in the bare ruined choir of the media.
6
Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year.
7
Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care.
8
The noun phrase straw man, now used as a compound adjective as in ‘straw-man device, technique or issue,’ was popularized in American culture by ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
9
When infuriated by an outrageous column, do not be suckered into responding with an abusive e-mail. Pundits so targeted thumb through these red-faced electronic missives with delight, saying ‘Hah! Got to ’em.’
10
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.
11
At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
12
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.
13
Cast aside any column about two subjects. It means the pundit chickened out on the hard decision about what to write about that day.
14
Do not be taken in by ‘insiderisms.’ Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as ‘lede.’ Where they lede, do not follow.
15
Have a definite opinion.
16
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.
17
I’m a right-wing pundit and have been for many years.
18
Never assume the obvious is true.
19
I’m willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.
20
Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
