Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

Platt-Deutsch/Plattdeutsch / plum, plumb � 269
Platt-Deutsch/Plattdeutsch. German dialect, also called Low German.
platypus, pl. platypuses.
plausible, plausibility.
“Play it, Sam” is the correct line from the movie Casablanca;
Humphrey Bogart never actually said, “Play it again, Sam.”
playwright. Not -write.
PLC. (U.K.) Public limited company, one whose shares are sold publicly
and quoted on the stock market; equivalent to the American
Inc. or German AG. Many companies write “plc” or “Plc,”
but there is no logical reason for so doing.
plead innocent is wrong, at least in the English-speaking world. Under
the British and American judicial systems, one pleads guilty
or not guilty.
plebeian. Common, vulgar, of the lower classes.
plebiscite. Vote of the people.
Pleiades. In Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Atlas and
Pleione; a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus.
Pleistocene. Geological period.
plenary. Full, complete. A plenary session of a council is one attended
by all the members.
plenitude. Not plenti-. An abundance.
plenteous.
Plessy v. Ferguson. 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the view that
children of different races could be educated separately as long
as the quality of education was equal.
plethora is not merely a lot; it is an excessive amount, a superabundance.
For a word that is often similarly misused, see spate.
pleurisy. Inflammation of the membrane covering the lungs.
Plexiglas. (Cap.) Not -ss.
Plimsoll line/mark. Point down to which a ship may be loaded.
PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization.
plum, plumb. If it is edible or vegetative the word is plum (plum pud-