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.' — William Safire Copy Share Image
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… — William Safire Copy Share Image
Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody. — William Safire Copy Share Image
Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight. — William Safire Copy Share Image
What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia… — William Safire Copy Share Image
This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and… — William Safire Copy Share Image
When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary. — William Safire Copy Share Image
A man who lies, thinking it is the truth, is an honest man, and a man who tells the truth, believing it to be… — William Safire Copy Share Image
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… — William Safire Copy Share Image
Today, war of necessity is used by critics of military action to describe unavoidable response to an attack like that on Pearl Harbor that… — William Safire Copy Share Image
