Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [45]
faux bonhomme. (Fr.) A person whose superficial good nature disguises a darker side.
faux pas. (Fr.) An error or blunder; pl. same.
favela. (Port.) A Brazilian shantytown.
Fawkes, Guy. (1570–1606) Catholic rebel caught up in England’s unsuccessful Gunpowder Plot. Guy Fawkes’ (note apos.) Day is November 5 and marks the date of his capture, not execution.
faze. To disturb or worry; not to be confused with phase.
FCC. Federal Communications Commission, authority responsible for regulating television and radio.
FDIC. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, authority that steps in when banks fail.
feasible. Not -able. The word does not mean probable or plausible, as is sometimes thought, but simply capable of being done. An action can be feasible without being either desirable or likely.
FedEx Corporation.
feet, foot. An occasional error is seen here: “Accompanied by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the president also stopped at the 275-feet-high General Sherman Tree, a sequoia thought to be one of the largest living things on Earth.” When one noun qualifies another, the first is normally singular. That is why we talk about toothbrushes rather than teethbrushes and horse races rather than horses races. Exceptions can be found—systems analyst, singles bar—but usually these appear only when the normal form would produce ambiguity. When a noun is not being made to function as an adjective, the plural is the usual form. Thus a wall that is six feet high is a six-foot-high wall. (For a discussion of the punctuation distinction, see HYPHEN in the Appendix.)
Fehn, Sverre. (1924–) Norwegian architect.
feijoada. Brazilian national dish.
Feininger, Lyonel. (1871–1956) American artist; note unusual spelling of first name.
Feinstein, Dianne. (1933–) Democratic senator from California.
feisty.
feldspar.
Fellini, Federico. (1920–1993) Italian film director.
FEMA. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
femto-. Prefix meaning one-quadrillionth.
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. (1920–) American poet and writer.
Fermanagh, Northern Ireland county.
Ferrara. City in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Ferrari. Italian car.
Ferraro, Geraldine (Anne). (1935–) American Democratic politician, ran as vice presidential candidate with Walter Mondale in 1984.
ferrule, ferule. A ferrule is a metal cap or band used to strengthen a tool, as with the metal piece that attaches the brush to the handle of a paintbrush. A ferule is a ruler or stick used for punishment.
fervid means intense; not to be confused with fetid, meaning foul-smelling.
fettuccine.
Feuchtwanger, Lion. (1884–1958) German writer.
feu de joie. (Fr.) Ceremonial salute with gunfire; pl. feux de joie.
Feuerbach, Ludwig. (1804–1872) German philosopher.
feuilleton. Section of French newspaper containing literary reviews, fiction serializations, or other pieces of light journalism.
fever, temperature. You often hear sentences like “John had a temperature yesterday” when in fact John has a temperature every day. Strictly speaking, what he had yesterday was a fever.
fewer, less. Use less with singular nouns (less money, less sugar) and fewer with plural nouns (fewer houses, fewer cars).
Feydeau, Georges. (1862–1921) French playwright known for farces.
Feynman, Richard. (1918–1988) American physicist.
fiancé (masc.), fiancée (fem.).
Fianna Fáil. Irish political party; pronounced fee-yan'-a foil.
Fiat. Abbreviation of Fabbrica Italiana Automobile Torino, Italian car manufacturer.
fiddle-de-dee.
FIDE. Fédération Internationale des Échecs, world governing body of chess.
Fidei Defensor. (Lat.) “Defender of the Faith.”
FIFA. Fédération Internationale de Football Associations, world governing body of soccer.
fifth column. Enemy sympathizers working within their own country; the term comes from the Spanish Civil War when General Emilio Mola boasted that he had four columns of soldiers marching on Madrid and a fifth column of sympathizers waiting in the city.
Fifth Third Bancorp. U.S. banking group.