The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time: Wit and Wisdom from the Popular "On Language" Column in the New York Times Magazine

It's hard to go wrong purchasing a book on language by Safire, and The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time: Wit and Wisdom from the Popular "On Language" Column in The New York Times Magazine was yet another satisfying experience. Safire launches into his subject matter with a bold statement: "We will come to sodomy in a moment." Here he has the audacity to pretend that we are in the middle of a conversation about this emotionally/religiously/politically charged word, and now he expects us to wait around until he gets to his point. In the hands of a novice, this kind of opening could be a disaster. But, this is Safire. It's worth hearing what he has to say. He goes on in the introductory essay to analyze supreme court justice Antonin Scalia's problematic statement: "I have nothing against homosexuals, or any other group, promoting their agenda through normal democratic means." He includes exchanges (correspondence?) with Scalia about the grammatical issues, and you get a real sense of two thinkers struggling to express themselves well. The book contains numerous other words that caught Safire's eye, so it is more a record of words flying around the political realm, than a structured approach to the English language. It consists of many mini essays, and can be read straight through, or in random samplings. You may want to have a dictionary close by just in case. Safire possesses a powerful vocabulary, and he's not afraid to use it. Although you may not agree with his politics, it's fascinating to see the English language come alive in his hands. I believe this was the last book he wrote before passing away in 2009.

This is a terrific book by a terrific thinker and writer. It's full of obscure word history that never fails to interest. And the dictionary organization makes it pretty easy to find passages that you might be interested in using for reference at a later date.

I expected that this compilation of his columns on English usage and grammar would be another excercise in [overanalysis] of the language from an old, out-of-touch crank, similar to Buckley's masturbatory celebration of his own good English, "The Right Word" or George Will's angry, irrational screeds against Ebonics. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that this 85 year old off-the-docks Jewish Conservative who is best known for his cranky anti-liberal editorials, is really quite knowledgeable about current popular culture and its effect on the language. The section on Hip-Hop/Rap Influence on the language is what interested me the most. Safire provides valuable insight into the nuances of "izzle"-talk, first popularized by hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg. He also presents a thorough analysis of the origins and meanings of Rap artists' names, reaching back to SugarHill Gang and covering rap artists all the way up to Nas. Did you know that Nas is not just an acronym for network attached storage? Me neither. How in the world would an artist come to choose "Nas" or "Snoop Doggie Dogg" or "Lil Bow Wow" for a name? Well, William Safire is just the man to answer that question. He is especially humorous when spoofing hip-hop terms which have been over-used into obsolescence , and yet linger on in the stunted vocabularies of deluded lay people who have no understanding of the culture and are always a year or 2 behind the times. The essays "Bye Bye Homegirl in Da House", "Yo Yo Yo..No No No", "Hold on to Yo MC Hammer CDs, Boyeeee" and "You Go Girlfreind. I Mean It, Go On, Get Out Of Here" were hilarious. One major low point of the book was the overwrought study of Missy Eliot's "Get Yer Freak On". Safire expends nearly 2 pages dissecting Elliot's use of suburban subjunctive clauses and east coast participles to the point of absurdity. How he chose this particular selection to expound on is puzzling. Although "Get Yer Freak On" is undoubtedly one of the groundbreaking pieces of recent times, there are countless compositions by Eminem, NWA, Public Enemy, or even 2 Live Crew that are more deserving of such intense review. Nonetheless, considering his advanced age and extreme conservative political leanings, it was indeed refreshing to discover that a crotchety old crank like Safire still got game.