Fundamentalism in grammar is not extremism: it is the true path, never turning aside to become lost in the tangled undergrowth of slipshod heresy.
Extract from a competition entry, The New Statesman, 12 January 2004. New Statesman
Not two sentences into his introduction, Paxman says MPs attend school speech days because 'they know that today's sixth-formers are tomorrow's voters', an irritatingly unperceptive remark and slipshod because it runs counter (as the truth would not) to his later conclusion that MPs crave audience-approval for its own sake.
Matthew Parris, Spectator, 9 November 2002, Spectator
reviewing Jeremy Paxman's The Political Animal: An Anatomy. Amazon
We spend billions of dollars a year on makeup and skin-care products, yet we’re slipshod about the one measure that dermatologists emphasize is essential for the long-term health, strength and bounce of our skin: guarding it against ultraviolet radiation.
Natalie Angier, The New York Times, 4 September 2007. New York Times
Besides chivvying Mr Cheney, the new Congress has investigated slipshod planning for the occupation of Iraq and the woeful treatment of injured veterans.
Unattributed, The Economist, 28 June 2007. Economist
However, my experience was similar to his when he says he was lucky to survive "filthy" wards and "slipshod and lazy" nurses, some of whom regarded patients as "a nuisance".
Edward Priestley, The Guardian, 13 March 2008, Guardian
referring to and quoting from comments by Lord Mancroft in the House of Lords.
"When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil" - Dale Carnegie
