Quote Origin: Every Writer Has a Lifetime Ration of Three Exclamation Points – Quote Investigator®<br /> by Quote Investigator <br /> accessed on 2026-10-08T09:31:30
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In 1919 essayist Christopher Morley published a collection of essays titled “Mince Pie: Adventures on the Sunny Side of Grub Street”. One piece commented satirically on an overwrought style:2 A letter should, if possible, be written on rose or lemon colored paper of a rough and flannely texture, with scalloped edges and initials embossed in gilt. It should be written with great rapidity, containing not less than ten exclamation points per page and three underlined adjectives per paragraph.
1919 Copyright, Mince Pie: Adventures on the Sunny Side of Grub Street by Christopher Morley, Syntax for Cynics, A Grammar of the Feminine Language, Quote Page 208, George H. Doran Company, New York. (Google Books Full View)
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- Sheilah Graham
- Terry Hersom
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- William Safire
- Elmore Leonard
- Annabel Davis-Goff
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- Jane Schwartz
- Peter Hernon
- William Maxwell
- typographical rules
- Christopher Morley
- Allen Smith
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