Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [66]
Ireland, Republic of (in Gaelic, Eire), consists of the following provinces (and their counties): Connacht (Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo), Leinster (Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow), Munster (Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford), and Ulster (Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan).
Irgun Zvai Leumi. Jewish guerrilla organization whose aim was to establish a state in Israel.
iridescence, iridescent.
irony, sarcasm. Irony is the use of words to convey a contradiction between the literal and intended meanings. Sarcasm is very like irony except that it is more stinging. Where the primary intent behind irony is to amuse, with sarcasm it is to wound or score points.
Iroquois. Native American group consisting of Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples; pl. same.
Irrawaddy. Principal river of Burma.
irreconcilable.
irrefragable, irrefrangible. The first means indisputable, the second indestructible, but both are inescapably pretentious when such useful synonyms are available.
irregardless is not a real word; make it regardless.
irrelevance, irrelevant.
irreparable.
irreplaceable.
irrepressible.
irresistible.
irreversible.
Isaiah. Book of the Old Testament.
Isakson, Johnny. (1944–) U.S. senator from Georgia.
ISBN. International Standard Book Number, an identifying number on books.
Ischia. Volcanic island in the Bay of Naples, Italy.
-ise/-ize. Since about the time of Noah Webster, American users have been strongly inclined to use -ize terminations on verbs such as recognize and conceptualize, while in Britain -ise endings remain more common. However, it is worth noting that even under the -ize system, certain verbs continue always to end in-ise, of which the following are the main ones: advertise, apprise, chastise, circumcise, comprise, compromise, demise, despise, devise, disguise, excise, exercise, franchise, improvise, incise, merchandise, reprise, supervise, surmise, surprise, televise.
Iseult/Isolde/Isolt/Ysolt. In Arthurian legend, an Irish princess who falls tragically in love with Tristan, the nephew of a Cornish king. Wagner’s opera is Tristan und Isolde.
Ishiguro, Kazuo. (1954–) British novelist.
isosceles triangle. One with two equal sides.
Isozaki, Arata. (1931–) Japanese architect.
Issigonis, Sir Alec. (1906–1988) Turkish-born British car designer.
Italy is divided into twenty regions: Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli–Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia (Lombardy), Marche (Marches), Molise, Piemonte (Piedmont), Puglia (Apulia), Sardegna (Sardinia), Sicilia (Sicily), Trentino–Alto Adige, Toscana (Tuscany), Umbria, Valle d’Aosta, Veneto.
ITAR-TASS. Russian news agency; formerly just called TASS.
its, it’s. Its is the possessive form of it: “Put each book in its place.” It’s is the contraction of it is: “The beauty of solar power is that it’s environmentally friendly.”
Iverson, Allen. (1975–) American basketball player.
Ivy League. Group of eight universities in the eastern United States noted for high academic standards: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.
IWW. Industrial Workers of the World, called Wobblies.
Izmir, Turkey; formerly Smyrna.
Izvestia (or Izvestiya). Russian newspaper.
Jj
ja, jawohl. (Ger.) “Yes.”
“Jabberwocky.” Poem by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking-Glass (1872), and (no cap.) any kind of nonsense writing.
jacana. Tropical bird.
jacaranda. Tropical tree.
jackal.
jackanapes. A cocky person.
Jacobean, Jacobin, Jacobite. Jacobean describes the period of the reign of James I of England (1603–1625). Jacobins were radical republicans during the French Revolution. Jacobites were supporters of James II of England and his heirs following the Glorious Revolution.
Jacobi, Derek. (1938–) English actor.
Jacobs Field. Cleveland baseball stadium, home of the Indians.
Jacobs Suchard. Swiss chocolate company.
jactitation of marriage. Note -ctit-. Falsely claiming