Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

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viii Preface straightforward phonetic equivalents. Often these are intended as no more than rough guides—anyone who has ever heard the throatclearing noise that is a Dutchman pronouncing ’s Gravenhage (the formal name of The Hague) will realize what a feebly approximate thing my suggested version is—and I unhesitatingly apologize for any shortcomings in this respect. I have also been forced on occasion to be arbitrary over spelling. Dictionaries are sometimes remarkably out of step with the rest of the world on certain matters of usage and orthography—in this respect I can cite no better example than the Oxford English Dictionary’s interesting but lonely insistence that Shakespeare should be spelled Shakspere—but there is usually a rough consensus, which I have sought to follow, though I try always to note alternatives when they are freely accepted. I have tried also to keep cross-references to a minimum. In my view one of the more grating irritants of research is to hunt through several pages looking for “Khayyám, Omar,” only to be told “See Omar Khayyám.” So I have frequently put such information not only where it should be but also where a hurried reader might mistakenly look for it. The price for this is a certain repetition, for which I additionally apologize. Some issues of style—whether you should write shopkeeper or shop-keeper, for instance—have been deliberately excluded. Such matters often are so overwhelmingly a question of preference, house style, or fashion that my choices would be simply that: my choices. I would suggest that in such instances you should choose what seems most sensible, and strive to be consistent. In the updating and typing of this new edition, I am hugely indebted to Meghan Bryson and Felicity Bryson Gould, respectively my daughter-in-law and daughter, for their unstinting and goodnatured help, and as always I am especially indebted to my dear wife, Cynthia, for her patience and support throughout.
Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors
Page 2 and 3: This book has been optimized for vi
Page 4 and 5: also by bill bryson � The Lost Co
Page 6 and 7: published by broadway books Copyrig
Page 9: Preface � This book is intended a
Page 14 and 15: 2 Abidjan / Académie française Ab
Page 16 and 17: 4 acre / Addams, Jane acre. A unit
Page 18 and 19: 6 Aeneid / affidavit Aeneid. Epic p
Page 20 and 21: 8 Aguascalientes / Ala. Aguascalien
Page 22 and 23: 10 Alfredsson, Daniel / all time Al
Page 24 and 25: 12 altercation / Améthyste, Côte
Page 26 and 27: 14 Amtrak / anesthesia, anesthesiol
Page 28 and 29: 16 Ann-Margret / Antipodean Ann-Mar
Page 30 and 31: 18 Apfelstrudel / appraise, apprise
Page 32 and 33: 20 Arc de Triomphe / Arrows of the
Page 34 and 35: 22 Ashbery, John / assessor too ear
Page 36 and 37: 24 Attawapiskat / au naturel Attawa
Page 38 and 39: 26 Avenue of the Americas / Ayers R
Page 40 and 41: Bb Baader-Meinhof Gang. German unde
Page 42 and 43: 30 Balearic Islands / barbaric, bar
Page 44 and 45: 32 Barroso, José Manuel / Bataan B
Page 46 and 47: 34 Beaufort / Beethoven, Ludwig van
Page 48 and 49: 36 Belarussian (or Belarusian) / Be
Page 50 and 51: 38 Berenson, Bernard (or Bernhard)
Page 52 and 53: 40 biathlon / blatant, flagrant bia
Page 54 and 55: 42 Boettcher Concert Hall / bonsoir
Page 56 and 57: 44 Bosnia and Herzegovina/Bosnia-He
Page 58 and 59: 46 boyfriend, girlfriend / breach,
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48 British Guiana / brouhaha dukes
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50 BST / Bundesrat, Bundestag BST.
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52 burnt sienna / but burnt sienna.
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Ccc ca. (Lat.) is the abbreviation
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56 Cameroon/Cameroun / candelabrum
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58 Canute / carafe Guangzhou. It is
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60 carillon / Carrasquel, Chico car
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62 cassowary / CCCP cassowary. Flig
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64 center around / chafe, chaff cen
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66 Chancellorsville, battle of / Ch
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68 Chesapeake Bay / Chincoteague Ch
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70 Chou En-lai / Cicero, Marcus Tul
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72 C. Itoh / Clwyd C. Itoh. Japanes
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74 Cohan, George M. / Colman, Ronal
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76 committal / compendium committal
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78 complete and unabridged / Congo
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80 contemptible, contemptuous / con
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82 corruptible / country, nation co
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84 Cratchit, Bob / crocheted, croch
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86 cupful / cut back cupful, pl. cu
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Dd Dachau. Town near Munich, site o
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90 Debussy, (Achille-) Claude / de
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92 de Maupassant, (Henri René Albe
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94 Deukmejian, George / diagnosis,
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96 Dietrich, Marlene / dilettante D
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98 discernible / dissect, dissectio
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100 Dodecanese / dormouse Dodecanes
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102 Double Top Mountain / douse, do
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104 Duchamp, Marcel / Duns Scotus,
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Ee each. When each precedes the nou
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108 EEG / Eisenbahn EEG. Electroenc
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110 elephantiasis / embarrass, emba
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112 ennoble / EOKA ennoble. ennui.
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114 E pluribus unum / especially, s
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116 Euripides / eventuate Euripides
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118 exorcise / E-ZPass exorcise. ex
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120 Fahd bin Abdul Aziz / Farrar, S
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122 FedEx Corporation / Ferraro, Ge
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124 Fifth Third Bancorp / Fischer,
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126 flaunt, flout / flounder, found
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128 forbid, prohibit / former, latt
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130 Fowler’s / Frankfurter, Felix
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132 Friedrichshafen / further, fart
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Ggg gabardine, gaberdine. The first
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136 Gardner, Erle Stanley / GDP, GN
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138 Geneviève, Sainte / Germany on
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140 Gettysburg / Gillray, James Get
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142 GNP, GDP / Good-natur’d Man,
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144 Gould, Elliott / granddad, gran
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146 grenadine / gross domestic prod
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148 Guangdong, Guangzhou / guilleme
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150 guttural / gypsy guttural. Not
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152 Haile Selassie / Hammerstein, O
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154 Harare / Harvard University Har
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156 Hebrides / heir apparent, heir
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158 Hepplewhite / Herzog & de Meuro
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160 Hikmatyar (or Hekmatyar), Gulbu
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162 Hoffmann, The Tales of / holoca
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164 Honecker, Erich / horde, hoard
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166 Hua Guofeng / Hussein, Saddam H
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168 hypothermia / Hywel hypothermia
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170 Ictinus / Iguassu (or Iguaçu)
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172 imply, infer / inadmissible imp
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174 indefatigable / individual inde
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176 infinitude / iniquitous infinit
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178 in situ / international courts
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180 inveigh, inveigle / Iroquois in
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182 Issigonis, Sir Alec / Izvestia
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184 James’s, St. / Jellicoe, John
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186 jihad / Jordaens, Jakob jihad.
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Kk Kaaba. Sacred shrine at Mecca. K
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190 keeshond / Khamenei, Ayatollah
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192 kimono / Klinefelter syndrome k
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194 Köln / Krafft-Ebing, Baron, Ri
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196 Kurile Islands / Kyzyl-Kum the
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198 laissez-faire / languid, limpid
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200 LaSorda, Tom / lay, lie LaSorda
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202 lederhosen / Leinster lederhose
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204 Lesseps, Ferdinand Marie, Vicom
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206 lighted, lit / limited mately c
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208 Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyr
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210 Lyly, John / Lysistrata (“a l
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212 Macdonald, Ross / MacNeice, (Fr
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214 Magna Carta (or Charta) / Maki,
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216 mandamus / March, Fredric manda
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218 Marsalis, Wynton / masterful, m
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220 McCarthy, Joseph (Raymond) / Mc
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222 Medici / Melanchthon, Philipp (
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224 Menuhin, Yehudi / metathesis th
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226 Mientkiewicz, Doug / Mindanao M
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228 Mississauga / modem Mississauga
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230 moniker / moose moniker (not mo
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232 most / Muhammad (or Mohammed) m
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234 Muslim / Myanmar, Burma Muslim
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Nnn NAACP. National Association for
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238 NCAA / neither NCAA. National C
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240 neurasthenia / Niigata neurasth
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242 nom de guerre / not so much nom
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Oo o O, oh, oho. The first normally
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246 odometer / O. Henry odometer. D
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248 one / on to, onto one can be a
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250 opus magnum, magnum opus / Orig
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252 Oudenarde, Battle of / Oxford M
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p Pp pablum (or pabulum). Food; in
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256 Pankhurst, Emmeline / par excel
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258 parturition / paterfamilias and
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260 pederasty / penniless pederasty
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262 perceptible / perpetrate, perpe
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264 Petrovskoye / Philippines, Repu
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266 pianssimo, pianississimo / Pier
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268 piranha / plate tectonics piran
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270 plumage / Pollaiuolo, Antonio d
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272 porcupine. porcupine / possessi
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274 pour, pore / precondition, prep
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276 pretension, but pretentious / p
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278 Promised Land, the / proper nou
Page 292 and 293:
280 provenance / Punxsutawney prove
Page 294 and 295:
Qq q Qaddafi/Gaddafi, Muammar al-.
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284 Queens College / quincentennial
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Rr rabbet. Type of groove used in c
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288 Rastafarianism / reason ...is b
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290 Regent’s Park / repartee Rege
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292 Reykjavik / Richter scale Reykj
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294 Rive Gauche / Rohrabacher, Dana
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296 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana / Royal We
Page 310 and 311:
Sss Saarbrücken, Germany. Saarinen
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300 sangfroid / Sargent, John Singe
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302 savoir-faire, savoir-vivre / Sc
Page 316 and 317:
304 Schollander, Don / Schweitzer,
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306 SDI / seismograph, seismometer,
Page 320 and 321:
308 septicemia / ’s Gravenhage se
Page 322 and 323:
310 Shays’ Rebellion / Shinawatra
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312 sieve / sine qua non sieve. sig
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314 skillful. skirmish. skillful /
Page 328 and 329:
316 Sotheby’s / Spinoza, Baruch d
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318 Stamford, Stanford / Steffens,
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320 Storey, David / Streisand, Barb
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322 Sucre / Surayud Chulanont, Gene
Page 336 and 337:
324 syllabub (or sillabub) / Szymbo
Page 338 and 339:
326 Tamaulipas / Tartuffe themselve
Page 340 and 341:
328 tectonics / terra firma tectoni
Page 342 and 343:
330 that (as a conjunction) / Thimp
Page 344 and 345:
332 Thruway / time Thruway is the c
Page 346 and 347:
334 Togolese / tornadoes This sente
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336 Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de / tr
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338 troglodyte / tsunami troglodyte
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340 tyrannous. tyrannous / Tyus, Wy
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342 Ukraine / underdog Ukraine. For
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344 unison / unpractical/impractica
Page 358 and 359:
346 Uruguay / Utzon, Jørn Uruguay.
Page 360 and 361:
Vvv vacillate. vade-mecum. A handbo
Page 362 and 363:
350 VE Day (or V-E Day) / verbal ag
Page 364 and 365:
352 via / Virgil via, meaning “by
Page 366 and 367:
354 vocal cords / von Sternberg, Jo
Page 368 and 369:
Ww w wacky. Waikiki. Beach and dist
Page 370 and 371:
358 weather conditions / Westcheste
Page 372 and 373:
360 whim, whimsy / who, whom and no
Page 374 and 375:
362 Wimbledon / woolen Wimbledon. T
Page 376 and 377:
364 wreak havoc / Wynette, Tammy wr
Page 378 and 379:
Yyy Yablonovy Range, Russia. Yahoo!
Page 380 and 381:
Zzz Zaandam, Zaanstad, Netherlands.
Page 382 and 383:
370 Zsigmond, Vilmos / Zworykin, Vl
Page 384 and 385:
372 Appendix creased. Consider “L
Page 386 and 387:
374 Appendix A rarer error is seen
Page 388 and 389:
376 Appendix when they suggest a pa
Page 390 and 391:
378 Appendix parentheses. Parenthet
Page 392 and 393:
380 Appendix quently writers fail t
Page 394 and 395:
382 Appendix Words Ending in -able
Page 396 and 397:
384 Appendix Abbr. City Airport Nam
Page 398 and 399:
386 Appendix Metric Prefixes Prefix
Page 400 and 401:
388 Appendix Country Currency Vietn
Page 402 and 403:
390 Bibliography and Suggested Read
Page 405 and 406:
Glossary � Grammatical terms are,
Page 407 and 408:
Glossary � 395 of the verb. In
Page 409 and 410:
Glossary � 397 often used when th
Page 411:
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