Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [97]
pizzeria. Not pizza-. Restaurant where pizzas are made.
Plaid Cymru. Welsh nationalist political party; pronounced plide kum'-ree.
plan ahead. Always tautological. Would you plan behind?
Planck, Max. (1858–1947) German physicist, awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.
planetarium, pl. planetariums/planetaria.
planetesimal. Orbiting body with planetlike qualities, but too small to qualify as such.
Plantagenets. Dynasty of English monarchs from Henry II to Richard III (1154–1485).
plaster of paris. (No cap.)
plat du jour. (Fr.) “Dish of the day.”
plateau. pl. plateaus (or plateaux).
platen. The roller on a typewriter.
plate tectonics. Not tech-. The science of Earth’s crust and its movements.
Platt-Deutsch/Plattdeutsch. German dialect, also called Low German.
platypus, pl. platypuses.
plausible, plausibility.
“Play it, Sam” is the correct line from the movie Casablanca; Humphrey Bogart never actually said, “Play it again, Sam.”
playwright. Not -write.
PLC. (U.K.) Public limited company, one whose shares are sold publicly and quoted on the stock market; equivalent to the American Inc. or German AG. Many companies write “plc” or “Plc,” but there is no logical reason for so doing.
plead innocent is wrong, at least in the English-speaking world. Under the British and American judicial systems, one pleads guilty or not guilty.
plebeian. Common, vulgar, of the lower classes.
plebiscite. Vote of the people.
Pleiades. In Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione; a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus.
Pleistocene. Geological period.
plenary. Full, complete. A plenary session of a council is one attended by all the members.
plenitude. Not plenti-. An abundance.
plenteous.
Plessy v. Ferguson. 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld the view that children of different races could be educated separately as long as the quality of education was equal.
plethora is not merely a lot; it is an excessive amount, a superabundance. For a word that is often similarly misused, see SPATE.
pleurisy. Inflammation of the membrane covering the lungs.
Plexiglas. (Cap.) Not -ss.
Plimsoll line/mark. Point down to which a ship may be loaded.
PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization.
plum, plumb. If it is edible or vegetative the word is plum (plum pudding, sugerplum, plum tree), but in all other senses the word is plumb (plumb line, plumb the depths, plumb tired out).
plumage.
plummy. An affected rich, full voice.
plus is a preposition, not a conjunction, and therefore does not influence the number of the verb. Two and two are four, but two plus two is four.
Plutarch. Properly Ploutarchos (c. 46–c. 120). Greek historian, biographer, and philosopher.
plutocrat. Person who has influence or power because of wealth.
p.m./PM. Post meridiem (not -ien), (Lat.) after noon.
PNC Park. Pittsburgh baseball stadium, home of the Pirates.
Pocahontas. (c. 1595–1617) North American Indian princess, known for saving the life of John Smith.
Pocatello, Idaho.
pocket borough. A British parliamentary borough controlled by one person or group; common before parliamentary reforms of 1832.
Podhoretz, Norman. (1930–) American journalist and writer.
Poe, Edgar Allan. (1809–1849) American poet and short story writer.
poet laureate. For the plural, poets laureate or poet laureates are both generally accepted.
pogrom. Methodical massacre of a minority group.
poinsettia. Winter-flowering plant.
pokey, poky. The first is slang for jail; the second means small, cramped, or slow.
Poliakoff, Stephen. (1954–) British dramatist.
poliomyelitis. Commonly shortened to polio. Once called (somewhat misleadingly) infantile paralysis.
politburo/Politburo. The chief committee of a Communist Party.
Polizei. (Ger.) Police.
Pollaiuolo, Antonio. (1429–1498) Italian painter, sculptor, and goldsmith.
Pollock, Jackson. (1912–1956) American artist.
Pollyanna. An optimistic person, particularly one who is foolishly so; after the heroine of a 1913 novel by Eleanor Porter.
polonaise. A slow Polish dance, or the music for it.