PLAGIARISM: MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH — by Steve Nadis
I’d just turned in my humor column the other day when the editor asked if I wanted to include a funny bio, which I normally do. I had to be somewhere in a few minutes, which didn’t give me much time to think. So I instantly sent back something that is pretty funny: “Columnist ____ ____ divides his time between being awake and being asleep.” The trouble was, I didn’t invent that line. It was written by another blogger <http://www.lordsoffun.com/> whose brother is a good friend of mine. I told the author I might steal his line someday, and since he didn’t object, I figured it was OK.
But as soon as I turned that in, I started worrying. What if the real author sent a comment about the bio? Or, worse yet, what if someone else sent a comment about my column saying the funniest thing in it was the bio? Either way I’d lose. So I played it safe, jettisoning that line for something more prosaic–something, in other words, that’s more my style.
Posted by
at
03:30:09
Is paraphrase plagiarism? I always used to do that with encyclopedia articles for papers when I was a kid at school.
I don’t know GM, as we’re entering a gray area here. But either way I promise not to tell your grade school teachers… -S
I couldn’t find what you wrote for your bio, so how would I have known? But thank you for your compliments. Use the phrase with my blessing. It would be great if you would add my blogsite to your links.
Other lines you could use:
“. . . divides his time between inhaling and exhaling.”
“His favorite memories are from his past.”
“He lives at his home.”
“Is not on any milk carton.”
- Paul De Lancey
THANKS PAUL! It seems you’ve approved high larceny on my part, and I will take you up on it! –S
P.S. I haven’t done a link in a long time [years] & will link to your site if I remember how to do it…