“When
I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.” – William
Safire
Born on this date in 1929, just days
after the Great Stockmarket Crash, Safire grew up in the turmoil of the 1930s
to become one of America’s best-known authors, columnists and journalists.
A stickler for language uses and
demands, he was perhaps best known as a long-time syndicated political
columnist for the New York Times.
He authored "On Language" in the Sunday New York Times
Magazine, a column on new or unusual usages, and other language-related
topics that he wrote right up until his death in 2009. He also wrote The Right Word in the Right
Place at the Right Time.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9l-_Cm4Kw0ioLOzDHLIIIqu6gsERGkuP2hlH-j0TEMmQ1CvfjYYscWKhd3kNuOMsaRBzPpkeSEGDkWM2sipZr66FgfzoNGoz7rlezQLgwlAmMVttuzCn-BTzcyCUEaiov9qJXyhrLYsE2/s400/images_002.jpg)
Lede, by the way, is the longtime
journalistic term for the “opening” of a story, supposedly containing all the
key or important information needed. Safire always delighted in adding a key
“nugget” of info. later in his stories – “just to keep the readers on their
toes.”
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