Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words - Bill Bryson [6]
The same problem is seen here: “Department of Trade officials, tax and accountancy experts were to be involved at an early stage in the investigation” (Guardian). And here is being asked to do two jobs at once: to mark the end of a series and to join tax and accountancy to experts. It isn’t up to it. The sentence needs to say, “Department of Trade officials and tax and accountancy experts . . .” The reluctance of writers to supply a second and is common but always misguided.
Andersen, Hans Christian, for the Danish writer of children’s tales. Not -son.
androgenous, androgynous. The first applies to the production of male offspring; the second means having both male and female characteristics.
and which. “The rights issue, the largest so far this year and which was not unexpected, will be used to fund expansion plans” (Times). Almost always and which should be preceded by a parallel which. The sentence above would be unexceptionable, and would read more smoothly, if it were changed to “The rights issue, which was the largest so far this year and which was not unexpected . . .” Occasionally the need for euphony may excuse the absence of the first which, but such instances are rare; usually the omission is no more than a sign of slipshod writing. The stricture applies equally to such constructions as and that, and who, but which, and but who. See also THAT, WHICH.
anno Domini (capital D only). The term is Latin for “the year of the Lord.” See also A.D.
another. “Some 400 workers were laid off at the Liverpool factory and another 150 in Bristol” (Daily Telegraph). Strictly speaking, another should be used to equate two things of equal size and type. In this instance it would be correct only if 400 workers were being laid off in Bristol also. It would be better to write “and 150 more [or others] in Bristol.”
antecedence, antecedents. Antecedence means precedence; antecedents are ancestors or other things that have gone before.
antennae, antennas. Either is correct as the plural of antenna, but generally antennae is preferred for living organisms (“a beetle’s antennae”) and antennas for manmade objects (“radio antennas made possible the discovery of pulsars”).
anticipate. To anticipate something is to look ahead to it and prepare for it, not to make a reasonable estimate, as is often thought. A tennis player who anticipates his opponent’s next shot doesn’t just guess where it is going to go; he is there to meet it.
anxious. Since anxious comes from anxiety, it should contain some connotation of being worried or fearful and not merely eager or expectant. You may be anxious to put some unpleasant task behind you, but unless you have some personal stake in it, you won’t be anxious to see a new play.
any. A tricky word at times, even for the experts: “This paper isn’t very good, but neither is any of the others in this miserable subject” (Philip Howard, The State of the Language). A simple and useful principle is always to make the verb correspond to the complement. Thus “neither is any other” or “neither are any of the others.”
anybody, anyone, anything, anyway, anywhere. Anything and anywhere are always one word. The others are one word except when the emphasis is on the second element (e.g., “He received three job offers, but any one would have suited him”).
Anybody and anyone are singular and should be followed by singular pronouns and verbs. A common fault—so common, in fact, that some no longer consider it a fault—is seen here: “Anyone can relax, so long as they don’t care whether they or anyone else ever actually gets anything done” (Observer). So long as they gets anything done? The problem, clearly, is that a plural pronoun (they) is being attached to a singular verb (gets). Such constructions may in fact be fully defensible, at least some of the time, though you should at least know why you are breaking a rule when you break it. For a full discussion, see NUMBER, 4.
Apennines for the Italian mountain range. Note -nn- in middle.
appendices, appendixes. Either is correct.