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William Safire

William Safire Quotes

Author

William Safire, born on December 17, 1929, was an accomplished American author, journalist, and political commentator. Known for his incisive political commentary and distinctive writing style, he won the Pulitzer Prize. Safire had a rich political background, serving as a speechwriter for President Nixon, which had a profound impact on his later work.

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All Ifs Knows Language Reader Use Writing Giving Needs Thinking Columns Feels Long Looks Mean Mind Order Politics Should Used Want

Famous William Safire Quotes

“The perfect Christmas gift for a sportscaster, as all fans of sports clichés know, is a scoreless tie.”

Knows Sports Perfect Fans Ties Christmas Gift

Book:You could look it up: more on language

Source: You could look it up: more on language

“When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.”

Knows Needs Looks Dictionary

Author: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.”

Book:You could look it up: more on language

Source: You could look it up: more on language

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

Knows Care Ignorance Speech Empathy Don't Care I Don't Care Thought Provoking Apathy Cynicism Sloppiness

Book:On language

Source: On language

“To 'know your place' is a good idea in politics. That is not to say 'stay in your place' or 'hang on to your place', because ambition or boredom may dictate upward or downward mobility, but a sense of place - a feel for one's own position in the control room-is useful in gauging what you should try to do.”

Knows Feels Should Trying May Ideas Political Politics Rooms Position Ambition Boredom Good Ideas Mobility Sense Of Place

Author:William Safire

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

Thinking Knows Needs

Author: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.”

Knows Needs Feels Sometimes Term Tired Poetic Sensitivity Precise Exquisite Unfamiliar Nuance Readership

Author:William Safire

About the Author

Born: December 17, 1929
Died: September 27, 2009
Known for: Author
Quotes: 94

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Books & Sources

On languageRelated source material

Fumblerules: a lighthearted guide to grammar and good usageRelated source material

Coming to termsRelated source material

You could look it up: more on languageRelated source material

Language Maven Strikes AgainRelated source material

Quoth the Maven: More on Language from William SafireRelated source material

Safire's Political DictionaryRelated source material

Scandalmonger: A NovelRelated source material

Spread the WordRelated source material

Watching My Language:: Adventures in the Word TradeRelated source material

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