A fumblerule is a rule of language or linguistic style, humorously written in such a way that it breaks this rule. The

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

George L. Trigg George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

published a list of such rules in 1979. The term ''fumblerules'' was coined in a list of such rules compiled by

William Safire William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He ...

on Sunday, 4 November 1979, in his column "On Language" in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Safire later authored a book titled ''Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage'', which was reprinted in 2005 as '' How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar''.

Examples

* "Avoid clichés like the plague." * "Don't listen to any advice." * " Ending a sentence with a preposition is one thing that I will not put up with." * "English is the '' crème de la crème'' of all languages." * "Eschew

obfuscation Obfuscation is the obscuring of the intended meaning of communication by making the message difficult to understand, usually with confusing and ambiguous language. The obfuscation might be either unintentional or intentional (although intent ...

, espouse elucidation." * "It is bad to carelessly

split infinitive A split infinitive is a grammatical construction specific to English in which an adverb or adverbial phrase separates the "to" and "infinitive" constituents of what was traditionally called the "full infinitive", but is more commonly known in mod ...

s." * "Never use no

double negatives A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. This is typically used to convey a different shade of meaning from a strictly positive sentence ("You're not unattractive" vs "You ...

." * "No

sentence fragment In grammar, sentence and clause structure, commonly known as sentence composition, is the classification of sentences based on the number and kind of clauses in their syntactic structure. Such division is an element of traditional grammar. Typolog ...

s." * "

Parentheses A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

are (almost always) unnecessary." * "The

passive voice A passive voice construction is a grammatical voice construction that is found in many languages. In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the ''theme'' or ''patient'' of the main verb – that is, the person or thing ...

should never be employed." * "You should not use a big word when a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

one would suffice." * "And don't begin a sentence with a connective." * "Using

discourse marker A discourse marker is a word or a phrase that plays a role in managing the flow and structure of discourse. Since their main function is at the level of discourse (sequences of utterances) rather than at the level of utterances or sentences, discou ...

s in academic writing basically sounds terrible, you know."

References

External links

''The Fumblerules of Grammar'' by William Safire''Fumblerules'' entry on the alt.usage.english FAQ
Word games Self-reference Adages 1979 neologisms {{lit-stub

Examples

See also

References

External links