Thursday Thirteen #11 - Grammar is a Piano
The emcee for the upcoming Literary Shift event asked the participants to respond to the following question: “If you were a punctuation mark, which one would you be and why?”
That got me to thinking about writing and grammar in general. (I chose a semi-colon - but that’s for another posting … )
And so, for this week’s Thursday Thirteen, I bring you 13 grammar-related quotes:
1. Grammar is a piano I play by ear. All I know about grammar is its power. ~ Joan Didion
2. Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language. ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein
3. Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar. ~ E. B. White
4. My spelling is wobbly. It’s good spelling but it wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. ~A.A. Milne
5. Only in grammar can you be more than perfect. ~William Safire
6. Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason. ~Richard C. Trench
7. Cut out all the exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke. ~ Author unknown
8. No iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place. ~ Isaac Babel
9. Damn the subjunctive. It brings all our writers to shame. ~ Mark Twain
10. Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers. ~ T. S. Eliot
11. You can be a little ungrammatical if you come from the right part of the country. ~ Robert Frost
12. At painful times, when composition is impossible and reading is not enough, grammars and dictionaries are excellent for distraction. ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning
13. When a thought takes one’s breath away, a lesson in grammar seems an impertinence. ~ Thomas W. Higginson
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Comments
lol, totally agree with number 4.
Happy T13
Posted by: Fence | May 10, 2007 3:16 AM
Great T13. Those were well chosen. English was my best subject throughout school.
Thank you for commenting at my T13.
Posted by: Titania | May 4, 2007 4:19 PM
Excellent collection of quotes. My fave is #10, if only because it made me LOL!!
Posted by: Wylie Kinson | May 4, 2007 11:51 AM
Yia sou Christine...And thank you for reading my blog and commenting on my TT....Literature and writing were my favourite subjects when I used to go to school many years ago..The quotes are very interesting...I'm definetly an exclamation mark...All that Greek drama and passion!!!
Posted by: Peter G | May 4, 2007 8:23 AM
LOL! Then I would have to be an exclamation because I'm constantly laughing at my own jokes; well, not my jokes but my SELF.
Loved the list.
Blessings,
~Toni~
Posted by: Toni | May 3, 2007 9:08 PM
Well I wanted to say an ! but I know they're not politically correct, so maybe ".
I love these! Have you heard this one by Andrew Jackson: "It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."
Posted by: colleen | May 3, 2007 8:59 PM
Your post reminds me of the old PBS show with Bill Cosby, Morgan freeman, and Rita Moreno. The Electric Company had lots of punctuation and especially exclamation points! (plus they had Spiderman too) Thanks for visiting my T13!
Posted by: Dane Bramage | May 3, 2007 8:03 PM
Cool list- very creative. My grammar may not be the best, but at least I try. Plus, I use spell check! By the way, I feel my grammar is being judged right now :P
Posted by: Steph | May 3, 2007 7:56 PM
I like AA Milne...it wobbles, ha! Fun list Christine :-)
Posted by: Tilly Greene | May 3, 2007 7:49 PM
Well done!
Posted by: Lori | May 3, 2007 7:11 PM
I like #11. I'm from the South...is that the right part of the country?
Nice TT!
Posted by: Lulu | May 3, 2007 7:02 PM
I must be doomed. I love exclamation points! ;)
Thanks for popping by for TT :)
Posted by: Immi | May 3, 2007 4:46 PM
This is a breathtaking list of quotes. I love grammar - I fell in love with it in 8th grade, and it continues to be a passion. I'm delighted by this list! Thanks for your sweet visit to my site. This list inspires me immensely! Well done!
Posted by: Laura at My Quotidian Mysteries | May 3, 2007 4:02 PM
#10 is great. As a failed writer myself.
Posted by: Sunny | May 3, 2007 3:42 PM
Great list! :) Very nice quotes. I've seen most of these before but writing quotes are such fun!
Posted by: Rashenbo | May 3, 2007 3:28 PM
Ha ha, these are great. My poor students are going to love the Mark Twain one, which I plan to share with them tomorrow!
Posted by: dew | May 3, 2007 3:19 PM
Awesome list. I especially enjoyed Robert Frost and A.A. Milne.
Posted by: she | May 3, 2007 12:25 PM
"Cut out all the exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke." Damn it - if i don't laugh at my jokes no one will. i'm really! really! really! bad! about lots!! of exclamation!!! points!
Posted by: rhian | May 3, 2007 11:44 AM
I like that list! Several of those quotes made me laugh (like the exclamation points. See, I'm laughing at my own jokes now, hehe)!
Thanks for visiting my list, too :-)
Posted by: Gail | May 3, 2007 11:33 AM
I love the wobbly spelling quote. I was afraid to visit because I thought maybe your link was a hint about mine... Happy TT.
Posted by: marilyn | May 3, 2007 10:26 AM
I fully agree with 2, 5, 11 which I think he was referring to New England, in my case Bahwsten, and 13.
Which movies from my list did you add? I'm curious.
Be well and enjoy the day
Posted by: Danielle | May 3, 2007 10:22 AM
This is an awesome list. I teach a grammar course in my day job and I may have to borrow some of these for it.
Posted by: Christine d'Abo | May 3, 2007 8:44 AM
I love this TT. Great job finding the quotes.
I really enjoyed "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynn Truss. I bet you would too.
Posted by: Babystepper | May 3, 2007 8:39 AM
What a great list of quotes - wobbly words - cute.
Posted by: LLD | May 3, 2007 7:47 AM
I love this TT, great job
Posted by: PJ's Wild Daisies | May 3, 2007 7:31 AM
Great quotes Christine, you and Rhian have got me T13ing now!
Posted by: Miss Frou Frou | May 3, 2007 7:20 AM
Love these quotes, Christine! I had a hard time picking which I love most. I felt very attracted to number 1, I'd have to say. =)
Posted by: Red | May 3, 2007 6:18 AM
Wow, what an awesome idea for a TT! I love those quotes. And I hadn't seen but a couple of them before now -- thanks so much for sharing! :) I absolutely love T. S. Eliot and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, E.B. White, A.A. Milne, and Mark Twain.
Happy TT, and thank you for visiting my blog.
Posted by: Thomma Lyn | May 2, 2007 11:18 PM
You have a good list of quotes here.
Posted by: Rose | May 2, 2007 10:47 PM
I absolutely love these quotes. These are ones I would have never found myself. Thanks for finding them. I particularly like #3.
Posted by: Megan | May 2, 2007 10:30 PM