drop it like it's hot

i've added e.b. white to my list of favorite authors but i've yet to read the works he's known for (charlotte's web and stuart little). instead, i've become a fan because of his nonfiction work. white used words sparsely (plural form of the herb), but he is still able to get his point across (garnished with his sharp wit). take this excerpt from his revision of strunk's ELEMENTS OF STYLE -

Flammable. An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning “combustible” is inflammable. But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means “not combustible.” For this reason, trucks carrying gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE. Unless you are operating such a truck and hence are concerned with the safety of children and illiterates, use inflammable.*

with a first name like ELWYN, i guess you have to be funny.


* - Strunk, W., E.B. White. The Elements of Style. Longman: New York, 2000.