[Ads-l] Quote Origin: Every Writer Has a Lifetime Ration of Three Exclamation Points

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The stylistically appropriate use of exclamation points is a
contentious topic. Way back in 2014 I received a request to
investigate sayings of the type in the subject line.

The earliest match I found with a numerical restriction on exclamation
points appeared in "The Sioux City Journal" of Iowa in October 1979.
Sports journalist Terry Hersom wrote the following:

[Begin except]
After all, writers are entrusted with three exclamation points to last
a lifetime, so as not to squander them. When one has wasted the
ultimate symbol, he leaves nothing for the future.
[End excerpt]

The notion of controlling the use of exclamation points can be
expressed in many ways; hence, it is difficult to trace. Here is an
evolutionary overview with dates and attributions:

1919: It should be written with great rapidity, containing not less
than ten exclamation points per page (Satirical remark by Christopher
Morley)

1930: The Times' typographical rules for news-stories forbade the use
of the exclamation point (Claim about "The New York Times" made in
"The New Yorker")

1958: Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is
like laughing at your own joke (Attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald by
Sheilah Graham)

1979 Jan: The quote … always appears with more exclamation points than
a prudent writer is likely to use in a lifetime (Helen Dudar)

1979 Oct: Writers are entrusted with three exclamation points to last
a lifetime (Terry Hersom)

1979 Nov: Don't overuse exclamation marks!!! (William Safire)

1990: Unless you are quoting other people's exclamations, kill all
exclamation points!!! (William Safire)

1997: A writer gets two exclamation points in a lifetime (Attributed
to William Maxwell by Jane Schwartz)

1999: A writer gets two exclamation points in a lifetime (Attributed
to William Maxwell by Edward Hirsch)

2001: Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no
more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose (Elmore Leonard)

2004: Every writer has a lifetime ration of three exclamation points
(Annabel Davis-Goff states that William Maxwell made this statement
directly to her)

2008: Each of us is allowed only three exclamation points in a
lifetime (Attributed to Allen Smith by colleagues Candy Schwartz and
Peter Hernon)

2019: Some writers recommend that you should use no more than a dozen
exclamation points per book; others insist that you should use no more
than a dozen exclamation points in a lifetime (Benjamin Dreyer)

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/04/27/lifetime-exclamation/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org