Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

Lazarus, Emma / Lederberg, Joshua � 201
of errors. There are no simple rules for dealing with them. You
must either commit their various forms to memory or avoid
them altogether. The forms are as follows:
lay lie
present: I lay the book on the I lie down / I am lying
table. down.
past: Yesterday I laid the book Last night I lay down to
on the table. sleep.
present perfect: I have already laid I have lain in bed all day.
the book on the table.
The most common type of error is to say, “If you’re not feeling
well, go upstairs and lay down.” It should be “lie down.”
Lazarus, Emma. (1849–1887) American poet, remembered chiefly for
“The New Colossus,” the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
L-dopa. Drug used for treatment of Parkinson disease.
leach, leech. The first describes the seepage of fluids, the second a
bloodsucking invertebrate.
lead, led. The past tense of the verb to lead is led. When lead is pronounced
led it applies only to the metallic element.
Leadbelly (or Lead Belly). (1888–1949) American blues musician; born
Huddie William Ledbetter.
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan. (1868–1921) American astronomer.
Iebensraum. (Ger.) “Living space”; imperialist notion pursued by
Hitler that Germans were entitled to occupy neighboring
lands.
Le Carré, John. (1931–) Pen name of David Cornwell, British novelist.
Le Corbusier. (1887–1965) Pseudonym of Charles Édouard Jeanneret,
Swiss architect and town planner.
Lederberg, Joshua. (1925–) American biologist, awarded Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine in 1958.