Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words - Bill Bryson [8]
assume, presume. The two words are often so close in meaning as to be indistinguishable, but in some contexts they do allow a fine distinction to be made. Assume, in the sense of “to suppose,” normally means to put forth a realistic hypothesis, something that can be taken as probable (“I assume we will arrive by midnight”). Presume has more of an air of sticking one’s neck out, of making an assertion that may be arguable or wrong (“I presume we have met before”). But in most instances the two words can be used interchangeably.
as to whether. Whether alone is sufficient.
attain. “The uncomfortable debt level attained at the end of the financial year has now been eased” (Times). Attain, like achieve and accomplish, suggests the reaching of a desired goal—hardly the sense intended here. It would have been better to change the word (to prevailing, for example) or to delete it.
auger, augur. “The results do not auger well for the President in the forthcoming midterm election” (Guardian). Wrong. Auger is not a verb; it is a drilling tool. To foretell or betoken, the sense intended in the example, is to augur, with a u. The two words are not related.
auspicious does not mean simply special or memorable. It means propitious, promising, of good omen.
Australia. “Our route took us across three big Australian states—Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria—and one little one: the Australian Capital Territory” (Boston Globe). Australia is divided into states and territories, which should not be confused, as they are in the example. The Australian Capital Territory is a federal zone carved out of the states of Victoria and New South Wales to be the seat of the national capital; it is roughly analogous to the District of Columbia in the United States. A much larger chunk of northern and central Australia is occupied by the Northern Territory, which also lacks statehood. Another fairly common error is seen here: “For several years, he worked as a mining engineer in Kalgoorlie, in western Australia” (Minneapolis Star). Western Australia is a state and thus should be capitalized (as should the neighboring state of South Australia). But perhaps the most common, and certainly the most regrettable, geographical error of all with Australia is seen here: “. . . and nowhere on earth will you find a more perfect harbor than in Australia’s capital, Sydney” (Newsday). Australia’s capital is in fact Canberra. Finally, and entirely incidentally, it is perhaps worth noting that Aussie, the diminutive term for an Australian, should be pronounced “Ozzie,” not “Ossie.”
autarchy, autarky. The first means absolute power, an autocracy; the second denotes self-sufficiency. Some style books—The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors and The Economist Pocket Style Book, for instance—are at pains to point out the distinction, and it is worth noting that the two words do spring from different Greek roots. But the same books usually fail to observe that neither word is comfortably understood by most general readers, and that in almost every instance their English synonyms would bring an improvement in comprehension, if not in elegance.
autobahn (Ger.) express superhighway. The plural is autobahns or Autobahnen.
autostrada (It.) express motorway. The plural is autostrade.
auxiliary. Not -ll-.
avant-garde. Note hyphen.
avenge, revenge. Generally, avenge indicates the settling of a score or the redressing of an injustice. It is more dispassionate than revenge, which indicates retaliation taken largely for the sake of personal satisfaction.
average. “The average wage in Australia is now about £150 a week, though many people earn much more” (Times). And many earn much less. That is what makes £150 the average. When expressing an average figure, it is generally unnecessary, and sometimes fatuous, to elaborate on its exceptions.
avocado,