Idle Amusement

Sometimes the oddest things amuse me. (from the weasel words website)

How to write good by William Safire [thanks to Garry Febey]

  • Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
  • No sentence fragments.
  • It behoves us to avoid archaisms.
  • Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.
  • Don’t use no double negatives.
  • If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: resist hyperbole.
  • Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
  • Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
  • Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
  • Writing carefully, dangling participles should not be used.
  • Kill all exclamation marks!!!
  • Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
  • Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
  • Take the bull by the hand, and don’t mix metaphors.
  • Don’t verb nouns.
  • Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
  • Last but not least, avoid clichĂ©s like the plague.

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