Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [39]
Dürer, Albrecht. (1471–1528) German artist and engraver.
duress.
durum. A type of wheat.
Dushanbe. Capital of Tajikistan.
Düsseldorf. Capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Dutchess County, New York State.
Dutch Guiana. Former name of Surinam.
Dvorák, Antonin. (1841–1904) Czech composer.
dwarfs is generally preferred to dwarves.
dyeing, dying. The first means adding color; the second means becoming dead.
dysentery.
dyslexia.
dysprosium. Chemical element.
dystrophy. Lacking adequate nutrition.
Dzibilchaltún National Park, Mexico.
Ee
each. When each precedes the noun or pronoun to which it refers, the verb should be singular: “Each of us was…” When it follows the noun or pronoun, the verb should be plural: “They each were…” Each not only influences the number of the verb, it also influences the number of later nouns and pronouns. In simpler terms, if each precedes the verb, subsequent nouns and pronouns should be plural (e.g., “They each are subject to sentences of five years”), but if each follows the verb, the subsequent nouns and pronouns should be singular (“They are each subject to a sentence of five years”).
each and every is hopelessly tautological. Choose one or the other.
each other, one another. A few arbiters of usage continue to insist on each other for two things and one another for more than two. There is no harm in observing such a distinction, but also little to be gained from it, and, as Fowler long ago noted, the practice has no basis in historical usage. The possessive form is each other’s, not each others’.
EADS. Short for European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, maker of Airbus planes.
Eagels, Jeanne. (1890–1929) American actress.
Earhart, Amelia. (1897–1937) Female aviator who disappeared while trying to circumnavigate the globe.
Earl’s Court, London.
Earnhardt, Dale. (1951–2001) Racecar driver.
earring. Note -rr-.
Earth, earth. When considering it as a planet, particularly in apposition to other cosmic features, Earth is normally capitalized. In more general senses (“He shot the arrow and it fell to earth”) lowercase is usually favored.
East Chester, New York, and Eastchester, New York (separate places).
eau-de-vie. The French term for brandy; pl. eaux-de-vie.
eBay.
Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York; home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1913–1957.
EBITDA. Short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; in finance, it is a measure of a company’s profits before various deductions.
Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus. The first is a book in the Old Testament; the second a book in the Old Testament Apocrypha.
ECG. Electrocardiogram.
éclat. Brilliant display or effect, notable success, renown.
Eco, Umberto. (1932–) Italian academic and novelist.
economic, economical. If what you mean is cheap and thrifty, use economical. For every other sense use economic. An economic rent is one that is not too cheap for the landlord. An economical rent is one that is not too expensive for the tenant.
ecstasy.
Ecuadorean is generally the preferred spelling for a person or product from Ecuador.
Eddy, Mary Baker. (1821–1910) American religious leader, founder of the Christian Science church, formally the Church of Christ, Scientist.
edema. Swelling of body tissue as a result of abnormal retention of fluid.
Edgware Road. Street and Underground station in London.
Edmonton. Capital of Alberta, Canada.
Eduskunta. Parliament of Finland.
EEG. Electroencephalogram.
eerie.
effect, affect. As a verb, effect means to accomplish (“The prisoners effected an escape”); affect means to influence (“Smoking may affect your health”) or to adopt a pose or manner (“He affected ignorance”). As a noun, the word needed is almost always effect (as in “personal effects” or “the damaging effects of war”). Affect as a noun has a narrow psychological meaning to do with emotional states (by way of which it is related to affection).
effete does not mean effeminate and weak, as it is often used. It means exhausted and barren. An effete poet is not necessarily