Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

288
Rastafarianism / reason ...is because
Rastafarianism. Religious sect.
ratatouille. Vegetable stew.
rational, rationale. The first means sensible or sound (“a rational decision”);
the second describes a justification (“the rationale for
his actions”).
rattan. Type of cane.
ravage, ravish. The first means to lay waste. The second means to
rape or carry off—or, a touch confusingly, to enrapture. Clearly,
in all senses, for both words, care needs to be exercised to avoid
confusion.
Ravenna, Italy.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Ray, Satyajit. (1921–1992) Indian film director.
razed to the ground is a common but mistaken expression. The
ground is the only place to which a structure can be razed. It is
enough to say that a building has been razed.
razzmatazz.
re- words. Somewhat mystifyingly, many publications show a formidable
resistance to putting hyphens into any word beginning
with re-. Yet often the presence or absence of a hyphen can usefully
and immediately denote a difference in meaning, as between
recollect (remember) and re-collect (collect again), or
between recede (withdraw) and re-cede (give back again, as with
territory). My advice, for what it is worth, is always to insert a
hyphen if you think it might reduce the chance of even momentary
misunderstanding.
react is better reserved for spontaneous responses (“He reacted to
the news by fainting”). It should not be used to indicate responses
marked by reflection.
real. Brazilian currency; the plural is reais.
realpolitik. Politics based on the achievable.
reason ...is because is a common construction that almost always