Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

melee. In French, mêlée.
mellifluous. Sounding sweet.
memento, pl. mementoes.
memorabilia. Note that the word is a plural.
melee / men’s, women’s � 223
memorandums.
Memorial Day. Day commemorating the war dead, held the last
Monday in May; originally called Decoration Day.
ménage à trois. (Fr.) Sexual relationship among three people living
together.
menagerie.
Mencken, H. L. (for Henry Louis). (1880–1956) American writer,
critic, and editor.
Mendel, Gregor Johann. (1822–1884) Austrian botanist whose work
became the basis of modern genetics.
Mendelssohn, Felix. (1809–1847) German composer; full name Jakob
Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
Mendes da Rocha, Paulo. (1928–) Brazilian architect.
Mendès-France, Pierre. (1907–1982) French prime minister (1954–1955).
meningitis. Inflammation of the meninges, or cranial membranes;
note that meninges is plural; a single membrane is a meninx.
Menninger Clinic, the. Psychiatric hospital founded in 1925,moved to
Houston, Texas, in 2003; the Menninger Foundation remains in
Topeka.
menorah. Seven-branched candelabrum used in Jewish worship in
ancient times; today’s Hanukkah menorah has nine branches.
Menorca. Spanish name for Minorca.
Menotti, Gian Carlo. (1911–2007) Italian-born American composer.
men’s, women’s. However eagerly department stores and the like
may strive to dispense with punctuation in their signs (writing
“Mens Clothing” or “Womens Department”), the practice is
subliterate and to be avoided in any serious writing. Equally incorrect,
if slightly less common, is placing the apostrophe after