Fumblerules are humorous rules for writing, collected from teachers of English grammar.[1] A fumblerule contains an example contrary to the advice it gives, such as "don't use no double negatives" and "eschew obfuscation".
The science editor George L. Trigg published a list of such rules in 1979.[2] Another list, from which this article takes its name, was compiled by William Safire on Sunday, 4 November 1979,[3][4] in his column "On Language" in the New York Times. Safire later authored a book entitled Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage, which was reprinted in 2005 as How Not To Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar.
See also
References
- ^ Dennis Joseph Enright (1983). A Mania for Sentences. Chatto & Windus/Hogarth Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=PD0eAAAAMAAJ&q=Fumblerules+date:0-1990&dq=Fumblerules+date:0-1990&as_brr=0&ei=fATjRuTGJqHApgKokc2FDg&pgis=1.
- ^ Physics Review Letters 42 (12), pp. 747–748 (19 March 1979)
- ^ alt.usage.english.org's Humorous Rules for Writing
- ^ Safire, William (1979-11-04), "The Fumblerules of Grammar", New York Times: SM4, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50A10F6355410728DDDAD0894D9415B898BF1D3&scp=1&sq=Fumblerules&st=p
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