Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [128]
whet one’s appetite. Not wet. The word has nothing to do with heightened salivary flow or anything of the like. It comes from an old English word, hwettan, meaning “sharpen.” Hence also whetstone for a stone used to sharpen knives.
which. The belief that which may refer only to the preceding word and not to the whole of a preceding statement is without foundation except where there is a chance of ambiguity. The impossibility of enforcing the rule consistently is illustrated by an anecdote cited by Gowers. A class in Philadelphia had written to a local paper’s resident usage expert, asking him what was wrong with the sentence “He wrecked the car, which was due to his carelessness.” Notice how the authority hoists himself with the last three words of his reply: “The fault lies in using which to refer to the statement ‘He wrecked the car.’ When which follows a noun, it refers to that noun as its antecedent. Therefore in the foregoing sentence it is stated that the car was due to his carelessness, which is nonsense.” See also THAT, WHICH.
whim, whimsy.
whinny. The sound a horse makes.
whippet. Breed of dog.
whippoorwill. North American bird, so named because of its call.
whirligig for the fairground ride and beetle, but whirlybird is the slang term for a helicopter.
whiskey.
Whistler, James Abbott McNeill. (1834–1903) American painter.
White Friars. Carmelites.
whitish. Not white-.
Whit Sunday. The seventh Sunday after Easter.
Whittier, John Greenleaf. (1807–1892) American poet.
whittle. To pare wood; to reduce gradually.
whiz, whizzed, whizzing.
whiz kid, not whizz-, is generally the preferred spelling, though most dictionaries recognize both. The same applies for whiz-bang, but with the addition of a hyphen.
who, whom. Whom is used when it is the object of a preposition (“To whom it may concern”) or verb (“The man whom we saw last night”) or the subject of a complementary infinitive (“The person whom we took to be your father”). Who is used on all other occasions.
whodunit is the usual spelling for a mystery story. Note the single n.
whortleberry.
Who’s Who. Biographical reference work.
Whyte & Mackay. Scotch whiskey.
widget. A gadget or other small undefined item.
wield.
Wien. German for Vienna.
Wiener, Norbert. (1894–1964) American mathematician, developed the science of cybernetics.
Wiener schnitzel. Fried breaded veal cutlet.
Wiesbaden, Germany. Not Weis-.
Wiesenthal, Simon. (1919–2005) Celebrated hunter of Nazi war criminals.
Wiest, Dianne. (1948–) American actress.
Wi-Fi. (Generally cap.) Short for wireless fidelity.
Wilde, Oscar (Fingall O’Flahertie Wills). (1854–1900) Irish poet and playwright.
wildebeest, pl. wildebeeste/wildebeests.
wildflower (adj.), wild flower (noun). A wildflower garden is filled with wild flowers.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Wilkes Land, Antarctica. (Two words, no apos.)
willful.
Willkie, Wendell L(ewis). (1892–1944) American businessman chosen by Republican Party as its presidential candidate in 1940.
will-o’-the-wisp.
Wills, Garry. (1934–) U.S. historian.
willy-nilly.
Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. Not Wilt-.
Wimbledon. Tennis club; officially, the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Windhoek. Capital of Namibia.
Winger, Debra. (1952–) American film actress.
Winnemucca, Nevada.
Winnibigoshish, Lake, Minnesota.
Winnipeg. Capital of Manitoba, Canada.
Winnipesaukee, Lake, New Hampshire.
wisteria, not -staria, for the flowering shrub, though the American scientist for whom it was named was Caspar Wistar.
withal. Not -all. In addition, moreover.
withhold, withheld. Note -hh-.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. (1889–1951) Austrian-born British philospher.
Witwatersrand. South African region in which Johannesburg is located. The university commonly known as Wits University is formally University of the Witwatersrand (note