Details
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Title
Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors
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Author
Bryson, Bill
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Binding
Paperback
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Edition
First American
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Condition
Used - Very Good
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Pages
398
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Volumes
1
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Language
ENG
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Publisher
Broadway Books, New York
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Date
2008
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Bookseller's Inventory #
GOR004683829
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ISBN
9780767922692 / 0767922697
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Weight
1.3 lbs (0.59 kg)
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Dimensions
8.5 x 5.46 x 1.1 in (21.59 x 13.87 x 2.79 cm)
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Library of Congress subjects
English language - Usage
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Library of Congress Catalog Number
2007034363
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Dewey Decimal Code
423.1
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From the publisher
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.
Excerpt
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 be an, not a.
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, but abdominal.
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 silent e (livable, lovable) except after a soft g (manageable) or sibilant c (peaceable). When a verb ends with a consonant and a y (justify, indemnify) change the y to i before adding -able (justifiable, indemnifiable). Verbs ending in
-ate drop that syllable before adding -able (appreciable, demonstrable).
-able, -ible. There are no reliable rules for knowing when a word ends in -able and 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, but abysmal.
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 -iest.
accouterment.
Accra. Capital of Ghana.
Acheson, Dean. (1893-1971) American diplomat and politician; secretary of state, 1949-53.
Achilles. King of the Myrmidons, most famous of the Greek heroes of the Trojan War.
Achilles’ heel. (Apos.)
Media reviews
Praise for Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words:
“One of the best guides to usage there is. I cannot imagine an English-speaking person [who] would not rejoice in [it].” —Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe
“A worthwhile addition to any writer’s or editor’s reference library.” —Los Angeles Times
“[Bryson is] a world-class grammar maven.”
—Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times
“A usage book with a nice sense of differentiation.”
—William Safire, New York Times Magazine
“Bryson’s erudition is evident and refreshing…a straightforward, concise, utilitarian guide.”—Publishers Weekly
