Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [43]
Euripides. (c. 484–406 BC) Greek dramatist.
euro (lowercase) for the unit of currency used by most, but not all, of the nations of the European Union since early 2002.
European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, deals with issues of civil liberties arising out of the European Convention on Human Rights; it has no connection with the European Union or the UN.
European Court of Justice, in Luxembourg, is a European Union institution dealing exclusively with disputes involving member states.
European Organization for Nuclear Research is more commonly called CERN (from Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire).
European Union was formed in 1967 with a formal merger between the European Economic Community, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community. As of 2007, it had twenty-seven members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
Eurydice. In Greek mythology, wife of Orpheus.
Eustachian tube. (Cap. E.) Passage connecting middle ear to nasopharynx.
euthanasia.
evangelical, evangelistic. Generally, evangelical is better reserved for contexts pertaining to adherence to the Christian gospel. If you need a word to describe militant zeal or the like, evangelistic is almost always better (e.g., “the evangelistic fervor of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament”).
eventuate. “Competition for economic interest, power and social esteem can eventuate in community formation only if…” (British Journal of Sociology, cited by Hudson). A pompous synonym for result.
everyday (adj.), every day (adverb). “He was wearing everyday clothes” but “We come here every day.”
exaggerate.
exasperate.
Excalibur. Not -er. King Arthur’s sword.
ex cathedra. (Lat.) With authority.
excavator.
exception proves the rule, the. A widely misunderstood expression. As a moment’s thought should confirm, it isn’t possible for an exception to confirm a rule—but then, that isn’t the sense that was originally intended. Prove here is a “fossil”—that is, a word or phrase that is now meaningless except within the confines of certain sayings (hem and haw, rank and file, and to and fro are other fossil expressions). Originally prove meant test (it comes from the Latin probo, “I test”), so “the exception proves the rule” meant—and really still ought to mean—that the exception tests the rule. The original meaning of prove is preserved more clearly in two other expressions: proving ground and the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
exchangeable.
excisable.
excitable.
exhalation.
exhaustible.
exhilarate.
exhort, exhortation.
exigent, exiguous. The first means urgent and pressing or exacting and demanding; the second means scanty and slender. But both have a number of synonyms that may spare the reader a trip to the dictionary.
ex officio (Lat.) By virtue of one’s office or position.
exorbitant.
exorcise.
expatriate. One who lives abroad. Not to be confused in spelling or meaning with compatriot.
expectorate, spit. The distinction between these two is not, it must be conceded, often a matter of great moment, but still it is worth noting that there is a distinction. To spit means to expel saliva; to expectorate is to dredge up and expel phlegm from the lungs. Expectorate therefore is not just an unnecessary euphemism for spit, but it is usually an incorrect one.
Expedition of Humphry Clinker, The. Not Humphrey. Novel by Tobias Smollett (1771).
ex post facto. (Lat.) “After the fact.”
expressible. Not -able.
extempore, impromptu. Although both words describe unrehearsed remarks or performances, their meanings are slightly different in that impromptu can apply only to acts that are improvised at the time of performance, whereas extempore suggests only that the actions were undertaken without the benefit of notes or other formal props. Impromptu, in other words, conveys a greater element of