Fernando Lázaro Carreter (Zaragoza, April 13, 1923 — March 4, 2004, in Madrid) was a Spanish linguist, journalist and literary critic who worked to improve the way the Spanish language is spoken and written, who penned the hugely popular 1997 book El Dardo en la Palabra (The Dart in the Word), a collection of articles he wrote on linguistic gaffes in the media. Lázaro Carreter was a member, occupying the Seat "R", of the prestigious Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española), the language's official referee, since 1972 until his death, and was its president for seven years, 1992-1998.