Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) Read Online Free PDF Page A

natural state.
    Ausable River, Ausable Chasm, New York State.
    Au Sable River, Au Sable Point, Michigan.
    Auschwitz. German concentration camp in Poland during World War II. In Polish, Oswiecim.
    Au secours! (Fr.) A cry for help.
    Ausländer. (Ger.) Foreigner.
    auspicious does not mean simply special or memorable. It means propitious, promising, of good omen.
    Austen, Jane. (1775-1817) English novelist.
    Australia, Commonwealth of, is divided into six states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia) and two territories (Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory). The latter two should not be referred to as states.
    autarchy, autarky. The first means absolute power, an autocracy; the second denotes self-sufficiency. However, neither word is well known, and in almost every instance an English synonym would bring an improvement in comprehension, if not in elegance.
    Auteuil, Daniel. (1950–) Prolific French actor.
    autobahn. (Ger.) Express motorway. The English plural is
autobahns
; the German is
Autobahnen
.
    auto-da-fé. Execution of heretics during the Inquisition; pl.
autos-da-fé.
    autostrada. (It.) Express motorway; pl.
autostrade.
    Auvergne. Region of France.
    auxiliary. Not
-ll-.
    avant-garde.
    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.
    Avenue of the Americas, New York City. Often still referred to as Sixth Avenue, its former name.
    avocado, pl.
avocados.
    avocation. Work done for personal satisfaction rather than need, usually in addition to a normal job.
    avoirdupois weights. The system of weights traditionally used throughout the English-speaking world, based on one pound equaling sixteen ounces.
    Avon. Former county of England, abolished 1996; also the name of several rivers in England and the title of the former prime minister Anthony Eden (Earl of Avon).
    Ã  votre santé. (Fr.) “To your health.”
    a while, awhile. To write “for awhile” is wrong because the idea of
for
is implicit in
awhile.
Write either “I will stay here for a while” (two words) or “I will stay here awhile” (one word).
    awoke, awaked, awakened. Two common problems are worth noting:
    1.
Awoken
, though much used, is generally considered not standard. Thus this sentence from an Agatha Christie novel (cited by Partridge) is wrong: “I was awoken by that rather flashy young woman.” Make it
awakened
.
    2. As a past participle,
awaked
is preferable to
awoke
. Thus, “He had awaked at midnight” and not “He had awoke at midnight.” But if ever in doubt about the past tense, you will never be wrong if you use
awakened
.
    axel, axle. An
axel
is a jump in ice skating; an
axle
is a rod connecting two wheels.
    Axelrod, George. (1922-2003) American screenwriter and film director.
    ayatollah. Shiite Muslim religious leader.
    Ayckbourn, Sir Alan. (1939–) Prolific British playwright.
    Ayers Rock (no apos.) for the Australian eminence. However, the formal and now usual name is Uluru.
    Aykroyd, Dan. (1952–) Canadian-born actor and screenwriter.
    Azerbaijan. Former republic of the Soviet Union; capital Baku.
Azerbaijani/Azeri.
    Azikiwe, Nnamdi. (1904-1996) Nigerian nationalist leader, president (1963-66).

Bb
    Baader-Meinhof Gang. German underground group named after Andreas Baader (1943-1977) and Ulrike Meinhof (1934–1976); also called the Red Army Faction.
    Baath Party. Formally Baath Arab Socialist Party.
    Babbitt. Novel by Sinclair Lewis (1922).
    Babington conspiracy. A plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England, named for its principal conspirator, Antony Babington (1561–1586).
    Babi Yar. Site near Kiev where Nazis massacred Russian Jews in 1941; also the title of a poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko and a novel by Anatoly