Fumblerules

A fumblerule is a rule of language or linguistic style, humorously written in such a way that it breaks this rule.[1] Fumblerules are a form of self-reference.

The science editor George L. Trigg published a list of such rules in 1979.[2] The term fumblerules was coined in a list of such rules 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 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, espouse elucidation."
• "It is bad to carelessly split infinitives."
• "Never use no double negatives."
• "No sentence fragments."
• "Parentheses are (almost always) unnecessary."
• "The passive voice should never be employed."
• "You should not use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice."
• "And don't begin a sentence with a connective."
• "Using discourse markers in academic writing basically sounds terrible, you know."

See also

• Muphry's law – Adage about hypocritical proscription
• Epimenides paradox, a self-referential statement by a Cretan that "All Cretans are liars."
• The Hacker Writing Style section of the Jargon File includes humorous examples of self-referential examples in copyediting, such as "This sentence no verb.", "Bad speling", and "Incorrectspa cing".

References

1. Dennis Joseph Enright (1983). A Mania for Sentences. Chatto & Windus/Hogarth Press. ISBN 9780701126629.
2. Trigg, George L. (1979-03-19). "GRAMMAR". Physical Review Letters. 42 (12). American Physical Society (APS): 747–748. Bibcode:1979PhRvL..42..747T. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.42.747. ISSN 0031-9007.
3. "alt.usage.english.org's Humorous Rules for Writing". Archived from the original on 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
4. Safire, William (4 November 1979). "On Language; The Fumblerules of Grammar". New York Times (published 1979-11-04). p. SM4.

External links

• The Fumblerules of Grammar by William Safire
• Fumblerules entry on the alt.usage.english FAQ
• Hacker writing style section of JARGON FILE, VERSION 4.3.3, 20 SEP 2002