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

• "Avoid clichés like the plague."
• "Don't listen to any advice."
• "Ending a sentence with a preposition is one thing that I will not put up with."
• "English is the crème de la crème of all languages."
• "Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation."
• "It is bad to carelessly split infinitives."
• "Never use no double negatives."
• "No sentence fragments."
• "Parentheses are (almost always) unnecessary."
• "The passive voice should never be employed."
• "You should not use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice."
• "And don't begin a sentence with a connective."
• "Using discourse markers in academic writing basically sounds terrible, you know."