Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [52]
giga-. Prefix meaning one billion.
gigolo, pl. gigolos.
Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Equatorial islands in Pacific Ocean; part of the Republic of Kiribati.
gild the lily. The passage from Shakespeare’s King John is: “To gild refined gold, to paint the lily…Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.” Thus it is both wrong and hackneyed to speak of “gilding the lily” in the sense of overdoing something.
Gilgamesh Epic. Babylonian epic poem.
Gillette. Brand of razors.
Gillray, James. (1757–1815) British caricaturist.
Gimbel Brothers. Former New York department store; commonly referred to as Gimbels (no apos.).
gingivitis. Not -us. Inflammation of the gums.
ginkgo. Not gingko. Asian tree; pl. ginkgoes.
Ginsberg, Allen. (1926–1997) American Beat poet.
Gioconda, La. Alternative name for the Mona Lisa.
Giorgione, Il. (1478–1510) Italian painter; full name Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco.
Giotto. (c. 1266–1337) Italian painter and architect; full name Giotto di Bondone.
girlfriend, boyfriend. (Each one word.)
Giuliani, Rudolph (“Rudy”) W. (1944–) Republican mayor of New York City (1994–2001).
giveable.
gizmo, pl. gizmos.
gladiolus, pl. gladioli.
glamour, but glamorous, glamorize.
glasnost. (Rus.) Literally “publicity” the effort to make Soviet government and life more open.
glassful, pl. glassfuls.
Glaswegian. A person from Glasgow.
GlaxoSmithKline. (All one word.) Anglo-U.S. pharmaceuticals company.
Glenlivet. Whiskey.
Glens Falls, New York.
Gloria in excelsis Deo. (Lat.) “Glory be to God on high.”
Gloucestershire. English county.
GmbH, for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung. (Ger.) Limited liability company.
GMT. Greenwich Mean Time.
gneiss. A kind of rock, similar to granite; pronounced nice.
gnocchi, for a type of Italian dumplings, is plural; a single dumpling is a gnocco (no h).
GNP, GDP. GNP, gross national product, is the total worth of everything produced by a nation during a given period, including earnings from abroad. GDP, gross domestic product, is everything produced by a nation during a given period, except earnings from abroad.
gobbledygook.
Gobelin tapestry. Named for a textile works in Paris.
Gobi Desert.
Godard, Jean-Luc. (1930–) French film director.
Goddard, Robert Hutchings. (1882–1945) American rocket scientist.
godsend, godforsaken, godhead (no caps.), but God-awful, God-fearing, and Godspeed (caps.).
Godthaab. Former name of the capital of Greenland; now called Nuuk.
Godwin Austen. Not Austin; no hyphen. More commonly called K2, the highest mountain in the Karakoram Range of the Himalayas.
Goebbels, Joseph. (1897–1945) German Nazi propaganda chief.
Goering/Göring, Hermann. (1893–1946) Leading Nazi, second in command to Hitler.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. (1749–1832) German poet and dramatist.
Gogol, Nikolai. (1809–1852) Russian novelist and playwright.
Golgi body. Structure found within cells.
Gomorrah. Ancient city in Palestine.
Goneril. One of Lear’s daughters in Shakespeare’s King Lear.
gonof (or ganef). (Yid.) A thief or disreputable person.
gonorrhea.
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, England; normally referred to as just Caius; pronounced keys.
goodbye. (One word.)
Good-natur’d Man, The. Comedy by Oliver Goldsmith (1768).
good will is the usual spelling, though goodwill is acceptable, particularly when referring to the reputation and trading value of a business.
Good Woman of Setzuan, The. Play by Bertolt Brecht (1941).
Google for the search engine, but googol for the very large number: a 1 followed by 100 zeroes.
GOP. Abbreviation of Grand Old Party, nickname of Republican Party.
Gorbachev, Mikhail (Sergeyevich). (1931–) General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–1991), president of the Supreme Soviet (1988–1991), president of the USSR (1990–1991).
Gordian knot. A complex problem. According to legend, King Gordius of Phrygia tied the knot and it was said that anyone who could undo it would rule Asia;