The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style : A ...

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PENGUIN REFERENCE Published by the Penguin Group, Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England First published in the United States of America by Penguin Reference, a member of Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000 This eBook edition published in 2002 Copyright © Paul W. Lovinger, 2000 All rights reserved. Lovinger, Paul W. The Penguin dictionary of American English usage and style : a readable reference book, illuminating thousands of traps that snare writers and speakers/ by Paul W. Lovinger. p. cm. ISBN 0 7865 2886 9 Set in Minion with Schneidler Initials Designed by Betty Lew Map and endpapers by Mark Stein Studios Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes copyright infringement and could subject the infringer to criminal and civil liability. First edition (electronic): November 2002
contents introduction: watching our words general topics vii xiii lexicon, a to z 1 reference works 487
Page 2 and 3: penguin reference THE PENGUIN DICTI
Page 6 and 7: introduction Watching Our Words Aim
Page 8 and 9: introduction ix children and make t
Page 10 and 11: introduction xi Our language is an
Page 12 and 13: xiv general topics Participle Perso
Page 14 and 15: the PENGUIN DICTIONARY of AMERICAN
Page 16 and 17: 2 abbreviation ways. See A WHILE an
Page 18 and 19: 4 acronym for example, they mean he
Page 20 and 21: 6 ad and add necessary . . . ,” d
Page 22 and 23: 8 admission overlook the effect of
Page 24 and 25: 10 affect and effect cated other pe
Page 26 and 27: 12 alibi The same questions may be
Page 28 and 29: 14 also to work on time.” The “
Page 30 and 31: 16 an ately after noon to immediate
Page 32 and 33: 18 and that, and which, and who one
Page 34 and 35: 20 any tion: “I can hardly wait t
Page 36 and 37: 22 ape and monkey The words unquest
Page 38 and 39: 24 around gests an identifying and
Page 40 and 41: 26 as his movie roles—tromping ar
Page 42 and 43: 28 as best one thing to another, th
Page 44 and 45: 30 auxiliary verbs (helping verbs)
Page 46 and 47: B BACHELOR and SPINSTER. A movie re
Page 48 and 49: 34 bacteria and bacterium people ar
Page 50 and 51: 36 bazaar and bizarre Some use lava
Page 52 and 53: 38 belly the other: “The ‘night
Page 54 and 55:
40 bevy goes with and. Sometimes th
Page 56 and 57:
42 billion Many owners of pool hall
Page 58 and 59:
44 blond and blonde members he repr
Page 60 and 61:
46 bough and bow is a leading expon
Page 62 and 63:
48 buck naked from about 1700, is p
Page 64 and 65:
50 but This sentence is fairly clea
Page 66 and 67:
52 capitalization an administering
Page 68 and 69:
54 case of letters to cause to tilt
Page 70 and 71:
56 chair CHAIR. 1. CHAIR and CHAIR-
Page 72 and 73:
58 “chilling effect” ones refer
Page 74 and 75:
60 clause work that has survived th
Page 76 and 77:
62 climactic and climatic ing grace
Page 78 and 79:
64 collective nouns to be singular:
Page 80 and 81:
66 comfit and comfort proach a part
Page 82 and 83:
68 comparative and superlative degr
Page 84 and 85:
70 compassion The discussion here d
Page 86 and 87:
72 concrete noun participle, compri
Page 88 and 89:
74 confusing pairs same. Punctuatio
Page 90 and 91:
76 confusing pairs ried out; “tes
Page 92 and 93:
78 consensus CONSENSUS. A question
Page 94 and 95:
80 contrary to popular belief venti
Page 96 and 97:
82 could have, could’ve, and “c
Page 98 and 99:
84 crime, misdemeanor, and felony o
Page 100 and 101:
86 crimes (various felonies) Relate
Page 102 and 103:
88 crisis [Host:] Why don’t they
Page 104 and 105:
D Danglers. See Modifers, 1. DARING
Page 106 and 107:
92 deluged the way, was the first p
Page 108 and 109:
94 destroy their own destiny.” A
Page 110 and 111:
96 diminuendo The paragraph below d
Page 112 and 113:
98 dismiss or implied). “All inte
Page 114 and 115:
100 don’t and doesn’t DON’T a
Page 116 and 117:
102 double negative tive: either be
Page 118 and 119:
104 doubling of letters lous writer
Page 120 and 121:
106 dum-dum bullet result of, becau
Page 122 and 123:
108 eager grammarians. Some say to
Page 124 and 125:
110 eke 3. Pronunciation H. W. Fowl
Page 126 and 127:
112 elude and allude only (1) to su
Page 128 and 129:
114 employ celebrity, or a high pla
Page 130 and 131:
116 era ERA. 1. Definition; pronunc
Page 132 and 133:
118 et al. participle of the verb e
Page 134 and 135:
120 every words, for ever, an older
Page 136 and 137:
122 “everything from” With the
Page 138 and 139:
124 exercise and exorcise gence off
Page 140 and 141:
F FABULOUS. Fabulous (adjective) pr
Page 142 and 143:
128 facticity, faction, factious, f
Page 144 and 145:
130 fantasia The survey asked 78 fa
Page 146 and 147:
132 fatality comparative of fore an
Page 148 and 149:
134 fetus gallery of ghoulish nonse
Page 150 and 151:
136 fiscal and physical The law tre
Page 152 and 153:
138 forceful and forcible ding and,
Page 154 and 155:
140 fortunate that state that, if w
Page 156 and 157:
142 “freak accident” “FREAK A
Page 158 and 159:
144 further or vehement(ly) without
Page 160 and 161:
146 gas Is it “gantlet” or “g
Page 162 and 163:
148 gendarme tor. So to see a headl
Page 164 and 165:
150 gerund considered traditional i
Page 166 and 167:
152 gerund text. Examples are the n
Page 168 and 169:
154 good and well “. . . Has gone
Page 170 and 171:
156 grievous, grievously GRIEVOUS,
Page 172 and 173:
158 guilt and innocence Members of
Page 174 and 175:
160 guy tinguished between guys and
Page 176 and 177:
162 hard-boiled In the words of an
Page 178 and 179:
164 havoc or had. “She had her ha
Page 180 and 181:
166 hearty HEARTY. See HARDY and HE
Page 182 and 183:
168 hold up, holdup, hold-up Regard
Page 184 and 185:
170 homophones gredient, headquarte
Page 186 and 187:
172 hopefully ters and formal docum
Page 188 and 189:
174 hypothesis and theory It is a s
Page 190 and 191:
176 identical The particular idea d
Page 192 and 193:
178 imminent, imminence IMMINENT, I
Page 194 and 195:
180 impartial The author presumably
Page 196 and 197:
182 include cident without qualific
Page 198 and 199:
184 inexpressible ance interests fo
Page 200 and 201:
186 infinitive bought a ticket” c
Page 202 and 203:
188 inflammable adequately financed
Page 204 and 205:
190 in terms of “The buyer must b
Page 206 and 207:
192 interrogative sentence They wer
Page 208 and 209:
194 inversions The pronunciation is
Page 210 and 211:
196 it, anticipatroy eration. A few
Page 212 and 213:
198 -ize ending tion to that which
Page 214 and 215:
200 jobless JOBLESS. The average ne
Page 216 and 217:
202 juvenile language . . . The tim
Page 218 and 219:
204 kiss of death there, inasmuch a
Page 220 and 221:
L LAID and LAIN. See LAY and LIE. L
Page 222 and 223:
208 latter This passage is from an
Page 224 and 225:
210 lead (noun) agement would not
Page 226 and 227:
212 leniency azine said, “Senator
Page 228 and 229:
214 ligation and litigation cludes
Page 230 and 231:
216 likely “It was like [as if] s
Page 232 and 233:
218 litigation Had people been spea
Page 234 and 235:
220 ltd., limited in, “We’ll dr
Page 236 and 237:
222 mama Change “believes” to b
Page 238 and 239:
224 marshal ing. Containing at leas
Page 240 and 241:
226 mayhem C.Might can be used to e
Page 242 and 243:
228 metal and mettle of two common
Page 244 and 245:
230 mischievous, mischievousness co
Page 246 and 247:
232 modifiers that appeared under a
Page 248 and 249:
234 modifiers discuss his “plan
Page 250 and 251:
236 modifiers is the Forum’s lead
Page 252 and 253:
238 moisturize word or group of wor
Page 254 and 255:
240 mother Some other adjectives an
Page 256 and 257:
N Names of products. See Trademarks
Page 258 and 259:
244 needless to say given name, onl
Page 260 and 261:
246 nevertheless pay attention to o
Page 262 and 263:
248 nonesuch, nonetheless, none too
Page 264 and 265:
250 not NOT. 1. Ambiguity. 2. Probl
Page 266 and 267:
252 not about to “struck a pregna
Page 268 and 269:
254 notoriety, notorious The princi
Page 270 and 271:
256 nouns ‘Waiting for Guffman’
Page 272 and 273:
258 nuclear Reagan will not accept
Page 274 and 275:
260 numbers two successive figures
Page 276 and 277:
262 numbers A newspaper item told o
Page 278 and 279:
264 numbers would pay the same doll
Page 280 and 281:
266 numbers bility that the blood c
Page 282 and 283:
O Object(ive) complement. See Compl
Page 284 and 285:
270 -odd tional radio network menti
Page 286 and 287:
272 on popular discussion of harlot
Page 288 and 289:
274 one as pronoun which we may cal
Page 290 and 291:
276 one out of or plural words go w
Page 292 and 293:
278 only to had kept all of his cam
Page 294 and 295:
280 outrageous, outrageously jargon
Page 296 and 297:
282 owing to • The language is fu
Page 298 and 299:
284 pairs of words A news story sai
Page 300 and 301:
286 peacock A friend writes that he
Page 302 and 303:
288 personal or a representative. E
Page 304 and 305:
290 persons and people missioner’
Page 306 and 307:
292 play up a case can be made for
Page 308 and 309:
294 plus as qualities or activities
Page 310 and 311:
296 possessive problems tificial po
Page 312 and 313:
298 pour and pore Journalists often
Page 314 and 315:
300 prepositions 3. Ending with a p
Page 316 and 317:
302 prepositions tion per fits eith
Page 318 and 319:
304 prescribe and proscribe PRESCRI
Page 320 and 321:
306 probability is pristine or it i
Page 322 and 323:
308 pronouns satisfy our basic need
Page 324 and 325:
310 pronouns noun must be singular;
Page 326 and 327:
312 pronouns English (quoted earlie
Page 328 and 329:
314 pronouns / “themself” / “
Page 330 and 331:
316 pronouns theirs.” / “It’s
Page 332 and 333:
318 pronouns The newscaster and wri
Page 334 and 335:
320 proof and evidence one another.
Page 336 and 337:
322 punctuation proper use of the a
Page 338 and 339:
324 punctuation in such cases is no
Page 340 and 341:
326 punctuation pletely: “Jack sa
Page 342 and 343:
328 punctuation [A critic] reproach
Page 344 and 345:
330 punctuation points could be num
Page 346 and 347:
332 punctuation The first ten words
Page 348 and 349:
334 punctuation “It was a head-on
Page 350 and 351:
336 punctuation begins with the nex
Page 352 and 353:
338 punctuation But here in a glass
Page 354 and 355:
340 punctuation seller. For those o
Page 356 and 357:
342 punctuation because he was old
Page 358 and 359:
344 punctuation ?????? Should - Sho
Page 360 and 361:
346 punctuation closures, though us
Page 362 and 363:
348 pupil and student can replace i
Page 364 and 365:
Q Q-TIPS. See VASELINE. Quantities,
Page 366 and 367:
352 quote and quotation 3. Unnecess
Page 368 and 369:
354 rack and wrack nearly 200 milli
Page 370 and 371:
356 range, true and false $2,000-to
Page 372 and 373:
358 rape dumplings shall rise in pr
Page 374 and 375:
360 reason Taken from the noun real
Page 376 and 377:
362 recommit chair will allow the l
Page 378 and 379:
364 repetition and its avoidance ti
Page 380 and 381:
366 reversal of meaning plified by
Page 382 and 383:
368 reverse and to place Israeli tr
Page 384 and 385:
370 round up and roundup Romance la
Page 386 and 387:
372 run-on sentence The failure to
Page 388 and 389:
374 sanction and sanctions are a sh
Page 390 and 391:
376 sentence fragment “He was fif
Page 392 and 393:
378 series errors equal words or ph
Page 394 and 395:
380 series errors quotation marks a
Page 396 and 397:
382 series errors has set out to li
Page 398 and 399:
384 sex and gender SEX and GENDER.
Page 400 and 401:
386 simple and simplistic not a rea
Page 402 and 403:
388 so far as C, in the sense that
Page 404 and 405:
390 specie and species about a trib
Page 406 and 407:
392 spelling See also FLAMMABLE (et
Page 408 and 409:
394 spinster Some have been taught
Page 410 and 411:
396 staff tended meaning probably w
Page 412 and 413:
398 subjunctive 1. Among the moods
Page 414 and 415:
400 subsequent to ography, contains
Page 416 and 417:
402 suffix . . . [The] Geary Theate
Page 418 and 419:
404 swamped Sustain (verb, transiti
Page 420 and 421:
406 systematic and systemic into th
Page 422 and 423:
408 team of ask him, “What other
Page 424 and 425:
410 tense “Earlier this year,”
Page 426 and 427:
412 tense and predict are among oth
Page 428 and 429:
414 tense had hauled off and punche
Page 430 and 431:
416 testament and testimony site. A
Page 432 and 433:
418 than any better than he” (tha
Page 434 and 435:
420 that Although acknowledging New
Page 436 and 437:
422 that, all that all that money?
Page 438 and 439:
424 that and which defining. [But t
Page 440 and 441:
426 that, who, and which that will
Page 442 and 443:
428 the wiched between them. This p
Page 444 and 445:
430 there, anticipatory THERE, anti
Page 446 and 447:
432 those and them ropean people to
Page 448 and 449:
434 titles VICE-PRESIDENT-IN-CHARGE
Page 450 and 451:
436 titles tion of master of scienc
Page 452 and 453:
438 together with To can also indic
Page 454 and 455:
440 to say nothing of tortious (TOR
Page 456 and 457:
442 transitive and intransitive ver
Page 458 and 459:
444 trooper and trouper Arch.” /
Page 460 and 461:
446 type slangy phrases like “rea
Page 462 and 463:
448 unemployed, unemployment UNEMPL
Page 464 and 465:
450 until This discourse is to reje
Page 466 and 467:
452 utilize, utilization tense of t
Page 468 and 469:
454 verbal unmentionables 1. Oral a
Page 470 and 471:
456 verbs The portion of sales hedg
Page 472 and 473:
458 verbs sides this one, including
Page 474 and 475:
460 vertebra and vertebrae a trap:
Page 476 and 477:
462 vice and vise The invention of
Page 478 and 479:
464 viz. Joint Chiefs of Staff prop
Page 480 and 481:
466 want and wish to the danger.”
Page 482 and 483:
468 whence and “from whence” WH
Page 484 and 485:
470 which be inferred, but a sharpe
Page 486 and 487:
472 who and that, who and which hol
Page 488 and 489:
474 who and whom argued that common
Page 490 and 491:
476 who, that, and which Who is or
Page 492 and 493:
478 winch said, when asked if the p
Page 494 and 495:
480 wither and writhe tion; the sec
Page 496 and 497:
482 wrestle, wrestling and rassle,
Page 498 and 499:
484 “yes, virginia” other y-end
Page 500 and 501:
486 zero in numbers in the televisi
Page 502 and 503:
488 reference works English Languag
Page 504 and 505:
490 reference works The New York Ti
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