October 1, 2009: Issue 308
William Safire, 1929–2009
William Safire died Sunday at age 79. You didn’t have to agree with the speeches he wrote for President Richard Nixon or with the ultraconservative columns he wrote for The New York Times to appreciate the man’s knowledge—and love—of words.
His “On Language” column was a fixture in the New York Times Magazine for 20 years. He tracked modern word uses, traced archaic meanings, and sometimes showed us that a “new” term or definition was already centuries old.
Safire’s classic “Rules for Writers,” which he compiled in 1979, still reach new readers every day thanks to e-mail forwards and social media. Among them: “Remember to never split an infinitive.” “Don’t use no double negatives.” “Avoid commas, that are not necessary.”
RIP, Mr. Safire. (He would certainly have pointed out that RIP stands for the Latin requiescat in pace, meaning “rest in peace.”)
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