Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [23]
Catullus, Gaius Valerius. (c. 84–c. 55 BC) Roman poet.
Caudillo. (Sp.) “Leader” title assumed by General Francisco Franco of Spain.
cauliflower.
cause célèbre.
caveat emptor. (Lat.) “Let the buyer beware.”
caviar.
Cawley, Evonne Goolagong. (1951–) Australian tennis star.
Cayenne. Capital of French Guiana.
CBC. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
CBS. Columbia Broadcasting System.
CCCP. Abbreviation in the Cyrillic alphabet of Soyuz Sovyetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), former USSR.
Ceau¸sescu, Nicolae. (1918–1989) President of Romania (1967–89); pronounced chow'-chess-coo.
cedilla. Mark [,] placed under a c to indicate that it is pronounced in French as an s, in Turkish as ch, and in Portuguese as sh.
ceilidh. (Gaelic) A gathering for music and dancing; pronounced kay'-lee.
Cela, Camilo José. (1916–2002) Spanish novelist, awarded Nobel Prize for Literature (1989).
celebrant, celebrator. The first is the term for persons taking part in religious ceremonies. Those who gather for purposes of revelry are celebrators.
celibacy does not, as is generally supposed, indicate abstinence from sexual relations. It means only to be unmarried, particularly if as a result of a religious vow. A married person cannot be celibate, but he may be chaste.
Cellini, Benvenuto. (1500–1571) Italian sculptor, goldsmith, and author.
Celsius, centigrade. (Abbr. C.) Interchangeable terms referring to the scale of temperature invented by Anders Celsius (1701–1744), a Swedish astronomer. To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply the Celsius temperature by 1.8 and add 32, or use the table in the Appendix.
cement, concrete. The two are not interchangeable. Cement is a constituent of concrete, which also contains sand, gravel, and crushed rock.
cemetery. Not -ary.
Cenozoic era. The present geological era, beginning about 65 million years ago. In earlier periods it was sometimes also spelled Caenozoic or Cainozoic.
centavo. A monetary unit in many countries of South and Central America equivalent to one one-hundredth of the country’s main unit of currency; pl. centavos.
center around. Center indicates a point, and a point cannot encircle anything. Make it “center on” or “revolve around.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. Federal institution that deals with matters of public health. Note the plural Centers. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
centrifugal/centripetal force. Centrifugal force pulls away from; centripetal force draws toward.
Cephalonia. Greek island in the Ionian chain; in Greek, Kephallinia.
Cerberus. In Greek mythology, a three-headed dog that stood guard over the gates to the underworld.
Ceres. Roman goddess of grain, identified with the Greek goddess Demeter.
CERN. Originally Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, now the Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Cervantes, (Saavedra) Miguel de. (1547–1616) Spanish author.
c’est la guerre. (Fr.) “That’s the way of war.”
Cévennes. Mountains in southern France.
Ceylon. Former name of Sri Lanka.
Cézanne, Paul. (1839–1906) French impressionist painter.
cf. Confer. (Lat.) “Compare” used in cross-references.
Chablais. Region of Haute-Savoie, France.
Chablis. French village and white burgundy wine (also cap.).
chacun à son goût. (Fr.) “Each to his own taste.”
chacun pour soi. (Fr.) “Everyone for himself.”
chador. Large piece of cloth worn by some Muslim women, which is wrapped around the body to leave only the face exposed; pl. chadors.
chaebol. Korean business conglomerate; pl. same.
chafe, chaff. To chafe means to make sore or worn by rubbing (or, figuratively, to annoy or irritate). To chaff means to tease good-naturedly.
chaffinch. Type of bird.
Chagall, Marc. (1889–1985) Russian-born French artist.
chagrined.
chaise-longue, pl. chaises-longues.
Chakvetadze, Anna. (1987–) Russian tennis player.
Chaliapin, Feodor (Ivanovich). (1873