The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words

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  • 5.0 (1 rating) ·
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Last edited by Lisa
September 25, 2023 | History

The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words

  • 5.0 (1 rating) ·
  • 26 Want to read
  • 3 Currently reading
  • 1 Have read

One of the English language's most skilled and beloved writers guides us all toward precise, mistake-free usage.As usual Bill Bryson says it best: "English is a dazzlingly idiosyncratic tongue, full of quirks and irregularities that often seem willfully at odds with logic and common sense. This is a language where 'cleave' can mean to cut in half or to hold two halves together; where the simple word 'set' has 126 different meanings as a verb, 58 as a noun, and 10 as a participial adjective; where if you can run fast you are moving swiftly, but if you are stuck fast you are not moving at all; [and] where 'colonel,' 'freight,' 'once,' and 'ache' are strikingly at odds with their spellings." As a copy editor for the London Times in the early 1980s, Bill Bryson felt keenly the lack of an easy-to-consult, authoritative guide to avoiding the traps and snares in English, and so he brashly suggested to a publisher that he should write one. Surprisingly, the proposition was accepted, and for "a sum of money carefully gauged not to cause embarrassment or feelings of overworth," he proceeded to write that book--his first, inaugurating his stellar career.Now, a decade and a half later, revised, updated, and thoroughly (but not overly) Americanized, it has become Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, more than ever an essential guide to the wonderfully disordered thing that is the English language. With some one thousand entries, from "a, an" to "zoom," that feature real-world examples of questionable usage from an international array of publications, and with a helpful glossary and guide to pronunciation, this precise, prescriptive, and--because it is written by Bill Bryson--often witty book belongs on the desk of every person who cares enough about the language not to maul or misuse or distort it.From the Hardcover edition.

Publish Date
Publisher
Penguin Books
Language
English

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting It Right
2004, Broadway
Paperback in English
Cover of: Troublesome Words
Troublesome Words
2002, BCA
in English
Cover of: Troublesome words
Troublesome words
2001, Viking
in English - 3rd ed.
Cover of: Troublesome Words
Troublesome Words
1997, Penguin Books
in English
Cover of: The Facts on File dictionary of troublesome words
The Facts on File dictionary of troublesome words
1988, Facts on File Publications
in English
Cover of: The Penguin dictionary of troublesome words
The Penguin dictionary of troublesome words
1988, Penguin Books
in English
Cover of: The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words
The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words
1987, Penguin Books
in English
Cover of: The Facts on File dictionary of troublesome words
The Facts on File dictionary of troublesome words
1984, Facts on File
in English
Cover of: The Penguin dictionary of troublesome words
The Penguin dictionary of troublesome words
1984, Penguin
in English
Cover of: The Penguin dictionary of troublesome words
The Penguin dictionary of troublesome words
1984, Guild Publishing
in English

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Book Details


Classifications

Library of Congress
PE1625

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL37820755M
ISBN 13
9780140512007
Amazon ID (ASIN)

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September 25, 2023 Edited by Lisa //covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6895067-S.jpg
September 25, 2023 Edited by Lisa Update covers
November 17, 2022 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
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October 16, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page