Style question for the old-timers

I know that when quoting people, we're supposed to just use the word "said", not "implied," "quipped," "exclaimed," or anything like that.
I have a stringer who was a news editor many years ago before he got into another line of work. He's a good, solid writer and reporter, but he uses words like "implied," "noted," "exclaimed," etc.
While the standard practice now is to just use "said" was there a time, maybe 25-30 years ago, when the way he did it, using words other than "said" was the accepted way of doing things?

 

As a 60-year-old, I still think it's acceptable to use the other words in moderation.

Well, most of them, anyway. "Implied" would be incorrect with a direct quotation because if the source implied something, he did not say it. The usage should be more like "By benching his star, the coach implied that tardiness would not go unpunished."

 

if you want your section to read like it's 60 years old, yeah, that shit's great.

also refer to wrestling as grappling, and games as tilts, those are nice touches.

 

Spoken like a true thin-clad harrier.

 

I guess you'd have to hear the quote to know if another word is appropriate. There's nothing wrong with "yelled," "whispered," "added," etc., given the right context.

 

"Ejaculated" is always a winner

 

"Said" is the way to go. It's relatively invisible. He "said" it. You stumble over pretty much every other adjective for "said." -- although you can convey the guy's tone with other more words if they apply.
He "simmered," if he's mad, for instance.
He "bristled" if you pissed the guy off. It conveys his mood as well

 

please slappy, define that ... i wanna know so i can use in the future.

 

Used to be a fan of all those other words, then I had my stuff really edited and realized that said is the way to go.
Boring, trite, plain but gets the job done.

 

We have an older newsside section editor who was given a specialty column in sports. He uses ... "Smith told me" or "Smith tells me" for most of his quotes. He complains about any edits that are made. So I figured, what the hell, nobody is reading it anyway.

 

I like the throw a "he chortled" in every now and then for variety.

 

When I saw the thread title, I thought it was about how to match spats with wool trousers, or how to trim your Van Dyke.