Short description
From one of America's most beloved and bestselling authors comes a wonderfully useful and readable guide to the problems of the English language.
Long description
From one of America's most beloved and bestselling authors, a wonderfully useful and readable guide to the problems of the English language most commonly encountered by editors and writers. What is the difference between immanent and imminent ? What is the singular form of graffiti? What is the difference between acute and chronic ? What is the former name of Moldova ? What is the difference between a cardinal number and an ordinal number? One of the English language's most skilled writers answers these and many other questions and guides us all toward precise, mistake-free usage. Covering spelling, capitalization, plurals, hyphens, abbreviations, and foreign names and phrases, Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors will be an indispensable companion for all who care enough about our language not to maul, misuse, or contort it. This dictionary is an essential guide to the wonderfully disordered thing that is the English language. As Bill Bryson notes, it will provide you with the answers to all those points of written usage that you kind of know or ought to know but can't quite remember.
Review
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