Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [59]
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. Note -hh-.
HIS, HJS. Hic iacet sepultus/sepulta, hic jacet sepulta (Lat.), “here lies buried.” Often seen on gravestones.
Hispaniola. Caribbean island on which Haiti and Dominican Republic are located.
historic, historical. Something that makes history or is part of history is historic. Something that is based on history or describes history is historical (“a historical novel”). A historic judicial ruling is one that makes history; a historical ruling is based on precedent. There are, however, at least two exceptions to the rule—in accountancy (“historic costs”) and, curiously, in grammar (“historic tenses”).
histrionics is plural.
hitchhike, hitchhiker. Note -hh-.
hitherto. “In 1962, the regime took the hitherto unthinkable step of appropriating land” (Daily Telegraph). Hitherto means “until now,” so in the example cited it is out of step with the sentence’s tense. The writer meant thitherto (“until then”), but theretofore would have been better and previously better still.
Hitler, Adolf. (1889–1945) Not Adolph. The German Nazi leader.
Hittites. Ancient people of Asia Minor.
HIV. Human immunodeficiency virus, the virus associated with AIDS. “HIV virus” is redundant.
Hizbollah. Alternative spelling of Hezbollah.
hoagie. Type of sandwich.
hoard, horde. An accumulation of valuables, often hidden, is a hoard. Horde applies to any crowd, but particularly to a thronging and disorganized one (“hordes of Christmas shoppers”).
hoary. Not -ey. Gray or aged.
Hobbema, Meindert. (1638–1709) Dutch artist.
Hobbes, Thomas. (1588–1679) English philosopher.
hobo, pl. hoboes.
Hobson’s choice is sometimes taken to signify a dilemma or difficult decision, but in fact means having no choice at all. It is said to derive from a sixteenth-century stable-keeper in Cambridge, England, named Thomas Hobson, who hired out horses in strict rotation. The customer was allowed to take the one nearest the stable door or none at all.
Hochhuth, Rolf. (1931–) German playwright.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; formerly Saigon.
Hodder & Stoughton. British publisher.
Hodgkin disease (or Hodgkin’s disease). A cancer of the lymphatic system first described by the British physician Thomas Hodgkin.
Hoffman, Dustin. (1937–) American actor.
Hoffmann, The Tales of. 1881 opera by Jacques Offenbach. Note -ff-, -nn-.
Hoffmann-La Roche. Swiss pharmaceuticals company.
Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, Texas.
Hofstadter, Richard. (1916–1970) American historian.
Hogmanay. Scottish name for New Year’s Eve.
Hohenzollern. German royal family and a former province of Prussia.
hoi polloi means “the masses, the common populace,” and not “the elite” as is often thought. A second problem is that in Greek hoi means the, so to speak of “the hoi polloi” is redundant.
Hokkaido. Japanese island; capital Sapporo.
Hokusai, Katsushika. (1760–1849) Japanese artist and wood engraver.
Holbein, Hans, the Elder. (c. 1460–1524) German painter and father of Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), court painter to Henry VIII of England.
Holiday, Billie. (1915–1959) American singer; born Eleanora Fagan Holiday.
Holinshed, Raphael. (d. c. 1580) English historian, known for The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (1577), which was popularly known as Holinshed’s Chronicles.
hollandaise sauce. (Not cap.)
Holland America Line. (No hyphen.) Cruise ship company.
Holman-Hunt, William. (1827–1910) English painter.
Holmegaard. Danish crystal.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell. (1809–1894) Physician, professor at Harvard, poet, essayist, and novelist, father of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935), associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1902–1932).
holocaust. In Greek the word means “burnt whole” and, generally speaking, it is better reserved for disasters involving fiery destruction. You should not, for instance, use the word to describe the devastation wrought by a hurricane or mudslide. However, a clear exception is in references to the slaughter of Jews by Germany during World War II, when it describes the entire extermination