Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [114]
spate properly describes a torrent, not a flurry.
special, especial. The first means for a particular purpose, the second to a high degree. A special meal may be especially delicious.
specie. Coins, as opposed to paper money.
species, genus. The first is a subgroup of the second. The convention is to capitalize the genus but not the species. Thus, Homo sapiens. The plurals are species and genera.
Spenser, Edmund. (1552–1599) English poet.
Spetsai, Greece.
spicy. Not -ey.
Spielberg, Steven. (1946–) American film director and producer.
spigot.
spiky. Not -ey.
spinnaker. Type of sail.
spinney. Small woodland.
Spinoza, Baruch de. (1632–1677) Dutch philosopher.
Spitsbergen. Norwegian island in the Svalvard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
spittoon.
split infinitives. The belief that it is a serious breach of grammar to split an infinitive (that is, to put an adverb between “to” and a verb as in “to boldly go”) is without foundation. It is certainly not a grammatical error. If it is an error at all, it is a rhetorical fault—a question of style—and not a grammatical one. It is practically impossible to find a recognized authority who condemns the split infinitive.
spoliation, not spoil-, for the state of being spoiled.
spontaneous, spontaneity.
spoonfuls. Not spoonsful or spoons full.
Spratly Islands. South China Sea.
springbok. An antelope.
squeegee. Device for cleaning windows.
Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina; site of infamous massacre of 8,000 citizens by Serbian forces in 1995.
Sri Lanka. Island state off India, formerly called Ceylon; capital Colombo. Note the airline is SriLankan (one word) Airlines.
SS. Abbreviation of Schutzstaffel, infamous Nazi enforcement agency.
staccato.
Stakhanovite. In the former Soviet Union, a worker held up to the nation as a paragon.
stalactite, stalagmite. Stalactites point downward, stalagmites upward.
stalemate is a permanent deadlock—one so intractable that no further action is possible. A chess match that reaches stalemate is not awaiting a more decisive outcome; the stalemate is the outcome. Standoff, deadlock, or impasse are all better words if remedial action is still possible.
Stamford, Stanford. Occasionally confused. Stamford is the name of notable communities in Connecticut and the English county of Lincolnshire. Stanford is the university in Palo Alto, California. The intelligence test is the Stanford-Binet test.
stanch, staunch. Although staunch is given as an acceptable variant by most dictionaries, stanch is still generally the preferred spelling for the verb meaning to arrest the flow. As an adjective, staunch is the only spelling (“a staunch supporter”).
stanchion.
St. Andrews, (no apos.) Scotland, site of St. Andrews University and golf’s most revered course, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
St. Andrew’s Day. (Apos.) November 30.
Stanislavsky system. Method of acting named for Konstantin Stanislavsky, a Russian teacher.
Stansted Airport, England.
St. Antony’s College, Oxford University.
staphylococcus, a type of bacteria; pl. staphylococci.
starboard. The right-hand side of a ship when looking forward.
Stasi. Short for Staatssicherheitsdienst, Ministry for State Security in East Germany before unification.
stationary, stationery. The first means standing still, the second is writing paper and envelopes.
St. Barthélemy, French West Indies.
St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford University.
St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge University, but St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University.
St. Catherines, Ontario.
St. Christopher and Nevis, Federation of. Formal name of Caribbean state commonly known as St. Kitts-Nevis.
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, formerly Santa Cruz; pronounced kroy.
Steffens, Lincoln. (1866–1936) Campaigning American journalist.
Stendhal. (1783–1842) Not -dahl. Pen name of Marie Henri Beyle, French writer.
Sterne, Laurence. (1713–1768) English clergyman and writer.
stethoscope.
stevedore.
Stevens, Wallace. (1879–1955) American poet.
Stevenson, Adlai. (1900–1965) American Democratic politician,