Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors
by Bryson, BillFormat: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2009-05-12
Publisher(s): Anchor
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Summary
From one of America's most beloved and bestselling authors comes a wonderfully useful and readable guide to the problems of the English language.
Author Biography
BILL BRYSON's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, A Short History of Nearly Everything (which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize), and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Bryson lives in England with his wife and children.
Excerpts
Aa
Aachen. City in Germany; in French, Aix-la-Chapelle.
a/an. Errors involving the indefinite articles a and an are almost certainly more often a consequence of haste and carelessness than of ignorance. They are especially common when numbers are involved, as here: "Cox will contribute 10 percent of the equity needed to build a $80 million cable system" or "He was assisted initially by two officers from the sheriff's department and a FBI agent." When the first letter of an abbreviation is pronounced as a vowel, as in "FBI," the preceding article should bean, nota.
Aarhus. City in Denmark; in Danish, erhus.
abacus, pl. abacuses.
abaft. Toward the stern, or rear, of a ship.
abattoir.
Abbas, Mahmoud. (1935-) President of Palestinian National Authority (2005-).
ABC. American Broadcasting Companies (note plural), though the full title is no longer spelled out. It is now part of the Walt Disney Company. The television network is ABC-TV.
abdomen, butabdominal.
Abdulaziz International Airport,King, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. (1947-) American basketball player; born Lew Alcindor.
aberrant, aberration.
abhorrent.
Abidjan. Capital of Ivory Coast.
ab incunabulis. (Lat.) "From the cradle."
abiogenesis. The concept that living matter can arise from nonliving matter; spontaneous generation.
-able. In adding this suffix to a verb, the general rule is to drop a silente(livable, lovable) except after a softg(manageable) or sibilantc(peaceable). When a verb ends with a consonant and ay(justify, indemnify) change theytoibefore adding-able(justifiable, indemnifiable). Verbs ending in
-atedrop that syllable before adding-able(appreciable, demonstrable).
-able, -ible. There are no reliable rules for knowing when a word ends in-ableand when in-ible; see Appendix for a list of some of the more frequently confused spellings.
ab origine. (Lat.) "From the beginning."
abracadabra.
abridgment.
abrogate. To abolish.
Absalom. In the Old Testament, third son of David.
Absalom, Absalom!. Novel by William Faulkner (1936).
Absaroka Range, Rocky Mountains.
abscess.
absinth.
abstemious.
Abu Dhabi. Capital city of and state in the United Arab Emirates.
Abuja. Capital of Nigeria.
Abu Simbel, Egypt; site of temples built by Ramses II.
abyss, abyssal, butabysmal.
Abyssinia. Former name of Ethiopia.
acacia.
Académie française. French literary society of forty members who act as guardians of the French language; in English contexts, Franeaise is usually capitalized.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Institution responsible for the Oscars.
a capella. Singing without musical accompaniment.
Acapulco, Mexico. Officially, Acapulco de Juarez.
Accademia della Crusca. Italian literary academy.
accelerator.
accessible.
accessory.
acciaccatura. Grace note in music.
accidentally. Not-tly.
accolade.
accommodate. Very often misspelled: note-cc-,-mm-.
accompanist. Not
Aachen. City in Germany; in French, Aix-la-Chapelle.
a/an. Errors involving the indefinite articles a and an are almost certainly more often a consequence of haste and carelessness than of ignorance. They are especially common when numbers are involved, as here: "Cox will contribute 10 percent of the equity needed to build a $80 million cable system" or "He was assisted initially by two officers from the sheriff's department and a FBI agent." When the first letter of an abbreviation is pronounced as a vowel, as in "FBI," the preceding article should bean, nota.
Aarhus. City in Denmark; in Danish, erhus.
abacus, pl. abacuses.
abaft. Toward the stern, or rear, of a ship.
abattoir.
Abbas, Mahmoud. (1935-) President of Palestinian National Authority (2005-).
ABC. American Broadcasting Companies (note plural), though the full title is no longer spelled out. It is now part of the Walt Disney Company. The television network is ABC-TV.
abdomen, butabdominal.
Abdulaziz International Airport,King, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. (1947-) American basketball player; born Lew Alcindor.
aberrant, aberration.
abhorrent.
Abidjan. Capital of Ivory Coast.
ab incunabulis. (Lat.) "From the cradle."
abiogenesis. The concept that living matter can arise from nonliving matter; spontaneous generation.
-able. In adding this suffix to a verb, the general rule is to drop a silente(livable, lovable) except after a softg(manageable) or sibilantc(peaceable). When a verb ends with a consonant and ay(justify, indemnify) change theytoibefore adding-able(justifiable, indemnifiable). Verbs ending in
-atedrop that syllable before adding-able(appreciable, demonstrable).
-able, -ible. There are no reliable rules for knowing when a word ends in-ableand when in-ible; see Appendix for a list of some of the more frequently confused spellings.
ab origine. (Lat.) "From the beginning."
abracadabra.
abridgment.
abrogate. To abolish.
Absalom. In the Old Testament, third son of David.
Absalom, Absalom!. Novel by William Faulkner (1936).
Absaroka Range, Rocky Mountains.
abscess.
absinth.
abstemious.
Abu Dhabi. Capital city of and state in the United Arab Emirates.
Abuja. Capital of Nigeria.
Abu Simbel, Egypt; site of temples built by Ramses II.
abyss, abyssal, butabysmal.
Abyssinia. Former name of Ethiopia.
acacia.
Académie française. French literary society of forty members who act as guardians of the French language; in English contexts, Franeaise is usually capitalized.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Institution responsible for the Oscars.
a capella. Singing without musical accompaniment.
Acapulco, Mexico. Officially, Acapulco de Juarez.
Accademia della Crusca. Italian literary academy.
accelerator.
accessible.
accessory.
acciaccatura. Grace note in music.
accidentally. Not-tly.
accolade.
accommodate. Very often misspelled: note-cc-,-mm-.
accompanist. Not
Excerpted from Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors by Bill Bryson
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