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You Can Put Lipstick on a Bad Writer, but...
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You can...
Posted by
Brett Cihon
9/15/2008 5:08:47 PM
You can put a jockstrap on my mother-in-law, but she's still unsupportive.
You can put a jockstrap on my mother-in-law, but she's still unsupportive.
You can...
Posted by
Brett Cihon
9/15/2008 5:07:03 PM
You can put a jockstrap on my mother-in-law, but she's still unsuportive.
You can put a jockstrap on my mother-in-law, but she's still unsuportive.
You can put ...
Posted by
Bill Canaday
9/14/2008 8:43:49 PM
It doesn't make a difference how much top-spin you give it, when the batter swings, it's still a cantaloupe.
It doesn't make a difference how much top-spin you give it, when the batter swings, it's still a cantaloupe.
And the winner is
Posted by
Roy Peter Clark
9/12/2008 4:10:13 PM
And the winner is David Vossbrink:
"You can put a tux on a Texan, but it's till a Texan."
In addition to the tension between...
And the winner is David Vossbrink:
"You can put a tux on a Texan, but it's till a Texan."
In addition to the tension between the tuxedo and stereotypical cowboy garb, there is the delicious sound connection of "tux" and "Tex."
I don't think we've come close to displacing lipstick on a pig, but we've revealed a process we can use to challenge ourselves towards originality.
Cheers, David. Please send me a mailing address and we'll ship you an autographed copy of "Writing Tools."
You can put...
Posted by
Jared Favole
9/12/2008 3:18:08 PM
You can put a wig on a bald 80-year-old lawyer, but he's still a bald 80-year-old lawyer.
You can put a wig on a bald 80-year-old lawyer, but he's still a bald 80-year-old lawyer.
You can put ...
Posted by
Alex Dering
9/12/2008 2:49:55 PM
lipstick on J. Edgar Hoover, but I repeat myself.
lipstick on J. Edgar Hoover, but I repeat myself.
Ugly Betty
Posted by
Alex Dering
9/12/2008 10:08:34 AM
I was watching a repeat episode of Ugly Betty last night. Betty's nephew, who is about 16, uses the exact phrase "lipstick on a pig."...
I was watching a repeat episode of Ugly Betty last night. Betty's nephew, who is about 16, uses the exact phrase "lipstick on a pig."
I look forward to the furious boycotts.
Also, I'd like to point out that a female pig is more precisely called a sow. If Obama had said "lipstick on a sow," I suspect the entire argument would actually have some, um, validity. But as it is, this is truly silly.
Where are the editors of old who would look at the issue, glare for a minute, and then say something like, "When he calls her something we can't print, let me know, and we'll write something."
Didn't mean it
Posted by
Roy Peter Clark
9/12/2008 9:54:13 AM
I did not mean to suggest that Obama's lipstick comment was sexist or directed at Palin. I meant the opposite.
How about:
"You can put...
I did not mean to suggest that Obama's lipstick comment was sexist or directed at Palin. I meant the opposite.
How about:
"You can put lipstick on a pig, but it doesn't mean you've got to kiss him on the mouth."
or "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it doesn't mean he's going to vote for the Equal Rights Amendment."
Keep at it, team. -- rpc
Winner
Posted by
Zettler Clay
9/12/2008 5:16:51 AM
You can put steroids in a baseball player, but he's still Barry Bonds.
You can put steroids in a baseball player, but he's still Barry Bonds.
Par
Posted by
Cary Wiggins
9/11/2008 9:18:23 PM
You can put a ball for the skins, but it's still golf. And a retroactively ambiguous choice of words. Sorry.
You can put a ball for the skins, but it's still golf. And a retroactively ambiguous choice of words. Sorry.
Here's mine...
Posted by
Diane Lee
9/11/2008 7:44:34 PM
You can put a cop uniform on a thief, but he's still a thief.
You can put a cop uniform on a thief, but he's still a thief.
You can tattoo...[Edit]
Posted by
George Bigelow
9/11/2008 5:04:32 PM
" You can tattoo grammatical tolerance on the forehead [of] an English Major- but it's still an English major."
----------
*Sorry. It's not...
" You can tattoo grammatical tolerance on the forehead [of] an English Major- but it's still an English major."
----------
*Sorry. It's not my fault. My editor is out shopping.
You can tattoo...
Posted by
George Bigelow
9/11/2008 4:58:10 PM
"You can tattoo grammatical tolerance on the forehead on an English major - but it's still an English major."
"You can tattoo grammatical tolerance on the forehead on an English major - but it's still an English major."
Casual Errors
Posted by
kathleen stack
9/11/2008 4:22:26 PM
He winced--not because it was "a sexist comment" directed at Sarah Palin.
Hello--this is exactly the kind of thing that drives me crazy. In an...
He winced--not because it was "a sexist comment" directed at Sarah Palin.
Hello--this is exactly the kind of thing that drives me crazy. In an otherwise excellent article we have casual, off-the-cuff error.
Obama's comment was a) not sexist and b) not directed specifically at Palin. Read the whole quote. He was talking about McCain/Palin positioning themselves as agents of change. So in trashing Obama for using a cliche--which is fine--he also perpetrates the Republican meme that the cliche is sexist.
Go forth and do better--please!
You can...
Posted by
Taina Makinen
9/11/2008 3:35:27 PM
... put lipstick on grammar, but gramper might not like it.
... put lipstick on grammar, but gramper might not like it.
You can ...
Posted by
Matthew Cate
9/11/2008 3:03:19 PM
... wax that ol' jalopy but it still won't drive.
... wax that ol' jalopy but it still won't drive.
You can put
Posted by
rachiel key
9/11/2008 2:54:29 PM
You can put or dress up a dog to make it look like a child but it will always bark at you.
You can put or dress up a dog to make it look like a child but it will always bark at you.
Re: Lipstick?
Posted by
Lin Young
9/11/2008 2:53:28 PM
Mary Ann Sternberg, I hear what you are saying. But professional journalists, who are still lucky enough to be employed in journalism are doing t...
Mary Ann Sternberg, I hear what you are saying. But professional journalists, who are still lucky enough to be employed in journalism are doing their jobs, which is writing what editors tell them to write for a newshole that keeps shrinking. In other words, there isn't enough money anymore to publish all the stories that all the still-employed journalists could/should write.
And Roy Peter Clark is not employed as a newswriter, that isn't his job, he's doing his job.
The problem is that a once expanding industry - that employed many talented professionals who derived personal and professional benefits from honing their skills for their craft/profession - is contracting. Heck, it may be in its death throes for all we know. But when it was still healthy, then honing skills with RPC's guidance for future use seemed prudent. Now we are all a little discombobulated, and on edge, because maybe spending time in this manner is now futile.
I mean, is anything dedicated to enhancing and improving an industry that is now shrinking and in danger of collapsing altogether a good way to spend time? Hence I understand why you would urge journalists to stick to reporting on things that might matter. Alas, the reporters don't control the size of the newshole available to print, or not print, all those relevant stories. They also don't control the tightening budgets that dictate pink-slipping more and more of those reporters.
I'm grateful to still have a journalism job, although as a salaried employee I now have to put in extra hours without pay. Hey, we still have to cover the news even if we no longer have enough people to do it, which means salaried people cover for the people we've had to let go. But the company I work for is very much struggling to survive. My boss is hoping to be able to hang on long enough for the economy to turn around and he is very frank in saying that he doesn't know if we can survive.
How To Come Up With Washboard Campaign Slogans That Look Good On The Evening News
Posted by
garth gibson
9/11/2008 2:19:31 PM
You can put your foot in your mouth but it's still smart politics
You can put your foot in your mouth but it's still smart politics
Quid pro quo, Clarice.
Posted by
Alex Dering
9/11/2008 2:09:37 PM
You can put a suit made from the skin of victims on a serial killer trying to transform himself into a woman, but he's still...
You can put a suit made from the skin of victims on a serial killer trying to transform himself into a woman, but he's still just a serial killer trying to transform himself into a woman.
You can put
Posted by
Mark Paxton
9/11/2008 1:19:56 PM
You can put a hat on a bald man, but he's still bald.
You can put a hat on a bald man, but he's still bald.
Lipstick?
Posted by
Mary Ann Sternberg
9/11/2008 1:08:07 PM
You can put lipstick on anything...but that doesn't qualify it/her/him to be a heartbeat away from running the country. Could professional journ...
You can put lipstick on anything...but that doesn't qualify it/her/him to be a heartbeat away from running the country. Could professional journalists please, puhlease, focus on relevant issues that will truly affect how someone will govern the country and resist the urge to allow the irrelevant to consume us???
still a pig
Posted by
Lin Young
9/11/2008 1:07:29 PM
You can put a wig on a bald man, but he's still bald and a man.
You can put a wig on a bald man, but he's still bald and a man.
You can put...
Posted by
Melanie Cohen
9/11/2008 1:05:40 PM
You can put instant coffee in a Starbucks cup, but it's still instant coffee.
You can put instant coffee in a Starbucks cup, but it's still instant coffee.
You can put...
Posted by
Joe Karius
9/11/2008 12:53:44 PM
You can put truth serum in Jerome Corsi's coffee, but it's still Jerome Corsi
You can put truth serum in Jerome Corsi's coffee, but it's still Jerome Corsi
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