When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary. — William Safire Copy Share Image
On the analogy of 'Dictionary Johnson,' we call Fred R. Shapiro, editor of the just-published Yale Book of Quotations (well worth the $50 price), 'Quotationeer Shapiro.' . . . Shapiro does original research, earning his 1,067-page volume a place on… — 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
Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight. — William Safire Copy Share
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
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
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
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
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
To communicate, put your words in order; give them a purpose; use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce. — William Safire Copy Share
“Chandler’s “She was blonde enough to make a bishop kick a hole through a stained-glass window” — William Safire Copy Share
You don't overturn a previous court's decisions lightly and I think most Americans are somewhere in the middle on abortion and there's not going… — William Safire Copy Share
