Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words - Bill Bryson [47]
lira, lire. “30,000 lira buy at least 30,000 glorious calories at all-you-can-eatery” (Chicago Tribune headline). The plural of lira is lire. A second problem with the headline is that sums of money are normally treated as singular. Thus it should be “30,000 lire buys”—though of course now no amount of lire will buy you anything, as the currency was replaced in Italy by the euro in early 2002.
literally. All too often used as a kind of disclaimer by writers who mean, literally, the opposite of what they are saying. The result is generally excruciating: “Hetzel was literally born with a butcher’s knife in his mouth” (Chicago Tribune); “After a slow start, they literally sliced up the Wildcats with their stunning last-half onslaught” (San Francisco Chronicle); “Our eyes were literally pinned to the curtains” (cited by Fowler).
It should not need saying, but if you don’t wish to be taken literally, don’t use literally. The word means actually, not figuratively. It is acceptable only when it serves to show that an expression usually used in a figurative sense is to be taken at its word, as in “He literally died laughing.”
livid. Originally livid indicated a bluish, leaden shade of the sort associated with bruising. It has since been extended to mean furious and argumentative, and in that sense is now well established. But the word has nothing to do with redness, as is often assumed, or with brightness, as was apparently thought here: “For the sun room she chose a bold, almost livid, array of patterns and textures” (Chicago Tribune). Unless the sun room was decorated in a dullish blue, the word the writer wanted was vivid.
Lloyd George, David (no hyphen), for the British Prime Minister, but Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (hyphen) for his title as a peer.
Lloyd’s of London (apostrophe) for the venerable insurance exchange, but Lloyds TSB (no apostrophe) for the British bank.
loath, loathe. The first is an adjective meaning reluctant, the second a verb meaning to despise.
local residents. “But when the Prime Minister asked that Genoans take their wet laundry indoors, he went too far for some local residents” (New York Times). Residents generally are local. Unless a contrast is needed or intended, residents should stand alone.
Longchamp, not -champs, for the French racecourse.
Love’s Labour’s Lost for the play by Shakespeare.
Luxembourg, Luxemburg. Luxemburg is an anglicized spelling of the French Luxembourg. One or two arbiters of usage, notably The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, prescribe Luxemburg for the country and the province in Belgium and Luxembourg for the palace and gardens in Paris. But nearly all other authorities opt (sensibly, in my view) for consistency, with Luxembourg throughout. However, note that the German political activist was Rosa Luxemburg.
luxuriant, luxurious. The words are not interchangeable, though the meanings sometimes overlap. Luxuriant indicates profusion (“luxuriant hair”). Luxurious means sumptuous and expensive (“a luxurious house”). A luxuriant carpet is a shaggy one; a luxurious carpet is an expensive one.
M
Mac, Mc, M’. In British usage all such words are treated as if they were spelled Mac when determining alphabetical order. Thus McGuire would precede Mason. In the United States the alphabetical order of the letters is usually followed literally, and Mason would precede McGuire.
McDonald’s (note apostrophe) for the American fast food chain. It is too ubiquitous to be misspelled as often as it is. The company is the McDonald’s Corporation.
McDonnell Douglas Corporation (now part of Boeing), but the Macdonnell Ranges in Australia.
Magdalen College, Oxford, but Magdalene College, Cambridge.
magnum opus, opus magnum. The first is an author’s principal work; the second is a great work.
major, as in a “major initiative,” “major embarrassment,