Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [69]
keelhaul.
keenness, but keenest.
keeshond. Breed of dog; pl. keeshonden.
Kefauver, (Carey) Estes. (1909–1963) American politician.
Keino, Kip. (1940–) Kenyan runner; full name Kipchoge Keine.
Keneally, Thomas. (1935–) Australian writer.
Kenyatta, Jomo. (c. 1897–1978) Born Kamau Ngengi; president of Kenya (1964–1978).
Kerensky, Alexander (Feodorovich). (1881–1970) Russian revolutionary, briefly prime minister (1917).
kerfuffle. Disorder, commotion.
Kerguelen Islands. Group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean.
Kerkyra. Greek for Corfu.
Kern, Jerome. (1885–1945) American composer.
kerosene.
Kerouac, Jack. (1922–1969) American novelist, a spokesman for the “beat generation” born Jean-Louis Kerouac.
Kerrey, Bob. (1943–) U.S. politician and academic; president of the New School.
Kerry, John. (1943–) U.S. Democratic senator from Massachusetts; ran for president in 2004.
Kertész, Imre. (1929–) Hungarian writer; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002.
kewpie doll.
Key, Francis Scott. (1780–1843) Author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
KGB. Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti, “Commission of State Security” the secret service of the former Soviet Union. The name ceased to be used after 1991.
khaki, pl. khakis.
Khalilzad, Zalmay. (1951–) Afghan-born American academic and diplomat; U.S. ambassador to United Nations (2007–).
Khamenei, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali. (1939–) Supreme Leader of Iran (1989–). Note that Sayyid has many variant spellings, among them Seyyed, Seyed, and Said.
Khartoum. Capital of Sudan.
Khayyám, Omar. Omar is not a first name, so alphabetically this Persian poet and mathematician (c. 1050–c. 1125) should be listed under O.
Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah. (1908–1989) Iranian religious and political leader, head of state (1979–1989).
Khrushchev, Nikita. Few errors make a publication look more careless than misspelling the name of a world leader, and few leaders’ names have been misspelled more frequently or variously than that of the late Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Note that the surname has three h’s.
Kibaki, Mwai. (1931–) President of Kenya (2002–).
kibbutz, kibitz. The first refers to Israeli communal settlements (pl. kibbutzim). The second is to watch at cards or some other such activity, often in an interfering manner.
kibosh.
kidnapped, kidnapper, kidnapping.
kielbasa. Polish sausage.
Kierkegaard, Søren (Aabye). (1813–1855) Danish philosopher.
Kigali. Capital of Rwanda.
Kiick, Jim. (1946–) American football player.
Kilauea. Active volcano on the island of Hawaii.
Kilimanjaro. Mountain in Tanzania, the highest point in Africa (19,340 feet; 5,895 meters). At the end of a line the name should be divided Kilima-njaro.
Kill Van Kull. Strait between Staten Island and New Jersey.
kiloton. (Abbr. kT.) An explosive force equal to 1,000 tons of TNT.
kilowatt. (Abbr. kW.) 1,000 watts.
Kimberley, South Africa and Australia.
Kimberly-Clark. U.S. paper and forest products group.
Kim Il Sung. (1912–1994) North Korean prime minister (1948–1972) and president (1972–1994), succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il (1942–).
kimono, pl. kimonos.
kind, kinds. There should always be agreement between kind or kinds and its antecedents. “These kind of mistakes” should be either “This kind of mistake” or “These kinds of mistakes.”
kindergarten, but kindergartner.
kinesiology. The study of body movement.
kinetics is singular.
King, (William Lyon) Mackenzie. (1874–1950) Prime minister of Canada (1921–1926, 1926–1930, 1935–1948).
Kings Canyon National Park, California (no apos.).
Kingsford-Smith (hyphen) for the airport in Sydney, Australia, but Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (no hyphen) for the aviator after whom it was named.
Kinshasa. Formerly Léopoldville; capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kirghizia. Now called Kyrgyzstan.
Kirgizstan. Use Kyrgyzstan.
Kiribati. Remote coral-islands state in Pacific Ocean; capital Tarawa.
Kirin/Jilin. (Pinyin.) Chinese province.
Kirkpatrick, Jeane. (1926–2006) American diplomat and academic. Note irregular spelling of first name.
Kissimmee,