Word: bitefuls
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Brevity is so highly prized that one good aphorism can earn its coiner immortality. Yet there is one form of brevity that gets no respect at all: the sound bite...
...sound bite is to politics what the aphorism is to exposition: the art of saying much with little. Yet the high priests of the press denounce the sound bite, staple of the 30-second political ad, as a degradation of political discourse. They insist that we be fed a sturdier diet of five- and 10- and 30-minute speeches to elevate our sensibilities...
...Vigorous writing is concise," writes William Strunk in his classic Elements of Style. "This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short...but that every word tell." The sound bite is the ultimate in making every word tell. It is the very soul of compactness. Brevity is not enough. You need weight. Hence some sound bites qualify for greatness: F.D.R.'s "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" or Reagan's "Tear down this wall." Others--"a bridge to the 21st century"--are just short and gaseous...
Holyfield spent time last week in Atlanta being treated finally with the respect he keeps earning but never quite gets. "I would like to help Tyson," he told TIME. "But you'll never really get healthy until you talk to yourself." From a distance, the crescent-shaped bite made by Tyson's incisors is barely noticeable. And from close up, neither is Holyfield's resentment, if he feels any. He has no plans to sue Tyson, who is facing penalties from all directions. "His attitude," says Holyfield, "caused him to lose everything he'd gathered...
Although the number of dog bites that caused people to seek medical care increased from 1986 to 1994 [LIVING, June 23], dog-bite fatalities, tragic as they may be, are not on the rise: 10 to 15 have occurred each year for the past six years, and six have occurred thus far in 1997. An estimated 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year, and most of them are children. Dog-bite injuries are a largely preventable problem. Responsible dog ownership and public education are the keys to prevention. LESLIE SINCLAIR Director of Companion Animal Care Humane Society...