Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

122
FedEx Corporation / Ferraro, Geraldine (Anne)
as is sometimes thought, but simply capable of being done. An
action can be feasible without being either desirable or likely.
FedEx Corporation.
feet, foot. An occasional error is seen here: “Accompanied by Interior
Secretary Gale Norton, the president also stopped at the
275-feet-high General Sherman Tree, a sequoia thought to be
one of the largest living things on Earth.” When one noun qualifies
another, the first is normally singular. That is why we talk
about toothbrushes rather than teethbrushes and horse races
rather than horses races. Exceptions can be found—systems analyst,
singles bar—but usually these appear only when the normal
form would produce ambiguity. When a noun is not being
made to function as an adjective, the plural is the usual form.
Thus a wall that is six feet high is a six-foot-high wall. (For a
discussion of the punctuation distinction, see hyphen in the
Appendix.)
Fehn, Sverre. (1924–) Norwegian architect.
feijoada. Brazilian national dish.
Feininger, Lyonel. (1871–1956) American artist; note unusual spelling
of first name.
Feinstein, Dianne. (1933–) Democratic senator from California.
feisty.
feldspar.
Fellini, Federico. (1920–1993) Italian film director.
FEMA. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
femto-. Prefix meaning one-quadrillionth.
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. (1920–) American poet and writer.
Fermanagh, Northern Ireland county.
Ferrara. City in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Ferrari. Italian car.
Ferraro, Geraldine (Anne). (1935–) American Democratic politician,
ran as vice presidential candidate with Walter Mondale in 1984.