From one of America's most beloved and bestselling authors, a wonderfully useful and readable guide to the problems of the English language most commonly encountered by editors and writers.

What is the difference between “immanent” and “imminent”? What is the singular form of graffiti? What is the difference between “acute” and “chronic”? What is the former name of “Moldova”? What is the difference between a cardinal number and an ordinal number? One of the English language's most skilled writers answers these and many other questions and guides us all toward precise, mistake-free usage. Covering spelling, capitalization, plurals, hyphens, abbreviations, and foreign names and phrases, Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors will be an indispensable companion for all who care enough about our language not to maul, misuse, or contort it.

This dictionary is an essential guide to the wonderfully disordered thing that is the English language. As Bill Bryson notes, it will provide you with “the answers to all those points of written usage that you kind of know or ought to know but can’t quite remember.”

Covering spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and US, UK, and foreign names and phrases, this reference offers a readable and often humorous guide to the problems of English spelling and usage most commonly encountered by editors and writers. Pronunciations have been simplified, without use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. An appendix on punctuation, a glossary of grammatical terms, and conversion tables are also included. Bryson won the 2004 Aventis Prize for his A Short History of Nearly Everything. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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Over 3 million copies sold in the USA

Praise for Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words:

“One of the best guides to usage there is. I cannot imagine an English-speaking person [who] would not rejoice in [it].” —Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

“A worthwhile addition to any writer’s or editor’s reference library.” —Los Angeles Times

“[Bryson is] a world-class grammar maven.”

—Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times

“A usage book with a nice sense of differentiation.”

—William Safire, New York Times Magazine

“Bryson’s erudition is evident and refreshing…a straightforward, concise, utilitarian guide.”—Publishers Weekly

BILL BRYSON's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, A Short History of Nearly Everything—which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize—and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Bryson lives in England with his wife and children.