Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [15]
billabong. Australian backwater; literally “dead stream.”
billet-doux. (Fr.) Love letter; pl. billets-doux.
Billingsgate. For the historic London fish market; when lowercased it denotes foul or abusive speech of the type once heard there.
bimonthly, biweekly, and similar designations are almost always ambiguous. It is far better to say “every two months,” “twice a month,” etc., as appropriate.
biriani (or biryani). Indian meat and rice dish.
Bishkek. Capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Bishopsgate, London.
Bismarck, Prince Otto (Eduard Leopold) von. (1815-1898) German chancellor (1871-90).
bivouac, bivouacked, bivouacking.
BlackBerry. Communications device.
Blackfeet. Native American tribe or a member thereof; never Blackfoot.
Blagojevich, Rod. (1956–) Governor of Illinois (2003–).
blatant, flagrant. The words are not quite synonymous. Something that is blatant is glaringly obvious and contrived (“a blatant lie”) or willfully obnoxious (“blatant commercialization”) or both. Something that is flagrant is shocking and reprehensible (“a flagrant miscarriage of justice”). If I tell you that I regularly travel to the moon, that is a blatant lie, not a flagrant one. If you set fire to my house, that is a flagrant act, not a blatant one.
blazon means to display or proclaim in an ostentatious manner. Trails are blazed, not blazoned.
Bleecker Street, New York City.
Blériot, Louis. (1872-1936) French aviator.
blitzkrieg. (Ger.) “Lightning war” an overwhelming attack.
Blixen, Karen, Baroness. (1885-1962) Danish writer, who used the pseudonym Isak Dinesen.
Bloemfontein, South Africa, capital of Orange Free State.
Bloomberg, Michael. (1942–) American businessman and politician, mayor of New York City (2002–).
blueprint as a metaphor for a design or plan is much overworked. At least remember that a blueprint is a completed plan, not a preliminary one.
Blumberg, Baruch S(amuel). (1926–) American scientist, joint winner of 1976 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
BMW. Short for Bayerische Motoren Werke.
B’nai B’rith. Jewish organization.
Boadicea. (d. AD 62) Traditional spelling for queen of the Iceni, a British Celtic tribe, but now more often spelled Boudicca.
Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy.
Boccaccio, Giovanni. (1313-1375) Italian writer.
bocce, boccie. Bowling game.
Bodensee. The German name for Lake Constance.
Bodhisattva. In Buddhism, an enlightened one.
Bodleian Library, Oxford University; pronounced bodd-lee-un.
Boeotia. Region of ancient Greece, centered on Thebes.
Boethius, Anicius Manlius Severinus. (c. 480–c. 524) Roman statesman and philosopher.
Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver.
boffo. A huge success.
Bofors gun. (Cap.) Named for a town in Sweden.
Bogdanovich, Peter. (1939–) American film director.
bogey, bogie, bogy. Bogey is the invariable spelling for contexts involving golf strokes, bogy generally is reserved for malevolent spirits, and bogie is a technical term used to describe parts of wheels or tracks on mechanical conveyances.
Bogotá. Capital of Colombia.
Bohème, La. Opera by Giacomo Puccini (1896).
Bohr, Niels. (1885-1962) Danish physicist, won Nobel Prize for Physics (1922).
Bois de Boulogne. Paris park.
bok choy. Chinese vegetable.
Boleyn, Anne. (c. 1507-1536) Second wife of Henry VIII.
bolívar. Monetary unit of Venezuela, named for Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), Venezuelan-born revolutionary.
Bolivia. South American republic; the seat of government is La Paz, but the official capital is Sucre.
Böll, Heinrich. (1917-1985) German writer, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.
bollito misto, pl. bolliti misti. An Italian stew.
bollix. To botch or bungle.
Bombay. Now known as Mumbai.
bon appétit. (Fr.) Eat well, enjoy your food.
Bonhams. (No apos.) London auction house.
bonhomie. (Fr.) Good nature.
Bonnard, Pierre. (1867-1947) French painter.
bonne nuit. (Fr.) Good night, but bonsoir for good evening.
bonsai, banzai. Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing dwarf shrubs; banzai is a Japanese salute,