Fumblerules

A fumblerule is a rule of language or linguistic style, humorously written in such a way that it breaks this rule.[1] Fumblerules are a form of self-reference.

The science editor George L. Trigg published a list of such rules in 1979.[2] The term fumblerules was coined in a list of such rules compiled by William Safire on Sunday, 4 November 1979,[3][4] in his column "On Language" in The New York Times. Safire later authored a book titled Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage, which was reprinted in 2005 as How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar.

Examples

See also
  • Muphry's law – Adage related to Murphy's Law
  • Epimenides paradox, a self-referential statement by a Cretan that "All Cretans are liars."
  • The Hacker Writing Style section of the Jargon File includes humorous examples of self-referential examples in copyediting, such as "This sentence no verb.", "Bad speling", and "Incorrectspa cing".

References
  1. Dennis Joseph Enright (1983). A Mania for Sentences. Chatto & Windus/Hogarth Press. ISBN 9780701126629.
  2. Trigg, George L. (1979-03-19). "GRAMMAR". Physical Review Letters. American Physical Society (APS). 42 (12): 747–748. Bibcode:1979PhRvL..42..747T. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.42.747. ISSN 0031-9007.
  3. "alt.usage.english.org's Humorous Rules for Writing". Archived from the original on 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
  4. Safire, William (4 November 1979). "On Language; The Fumblerules of Grammar". New York Times (published 1979-11-04). p. SM4.


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