RATHER'S REMARKS

When Dan Rather gives up the CBS News anchor's chair this month, viewers will have to say good-bye to the bizarre colloquialisms that have peppered his broadcasts. A selection:

Well, we've said it many times - if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun.

Are your fingernails beginning to sweat?

This [race] is as tight as the rusted lug nuts on a '55 Ford.

... it's Spandex tight.

... closer than Lassie and Timmy.

... shakier than cafeteria Jell-O.

Frankly, we don't know whether to run, to watch, or to bark at the moon.

No question now that Kerry's rapidly reaching the point where he's got his back to the wall, his shirttails on fire, and the bill collectors at the door.

Sip it, savor it, cup it, photostat it, underline it in red, put it in an album, hang it on the wall: George Bush is the next president of the United States.

When the going gets weird, anchormen punt.

[Source: The Atlantic Monthly, March 2005]