Avoid overuse of 'quotation “marks.”'

Adjective salad is delicious, with each element contributing its individual and unique flavor; but a puree of adjective soup tastes yecchy.

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 the quotation shelf next to Bartlett's and Oxford's.

Nobody stands taller than those willing to stand corrected.

Never put the story in the lead. Let 'em have a hot shot of ambiguity right between the eyes.

Better to be a jerk that knees than a knee that jerks.

The perfect Christmas gift for a sportscaster, as all fans of sports clichés know, is a scoreless tie.