Last, But Not Least, Avoid Cliches Like

Writers Who Used To Show Off Their Erudition No Longer Sing In The Bare Ruined Choir Of The Media.

If You Want To "get In Touch With Your Feelings," Fine, Talk To Yourself. We All Do. But If You Want To Communicate With Another Thinking Human Being, Get In Touch With Your Thoughts. Put Them In Order, Give Them A Purpose, Use Them To Persuade, To Instruct, To Discover, To Seduce. The Secret Way To Do This Is To Write It Down, And Then Cut Out The Confusing Parts.

Color And Bite Permeate A Language Designed To Rally Many Men, To Destroy Some, And To Change The Minds Of Others.

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.

The Perfect Christmas Gift For A Sportscaster, As All Fans Of Sports Clichés Know, Is A Scoreless Tie.