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

treatment.”
    Barbarossa. Not
-rosa.
Nickname of Frederick I (c. 1123-1190), Holy Roman Emperor; German code name for the invasion of the USSR in 1941.
    barbecue is the only acceptable spelling in serious writing.
    Barbizon School. Group of French landscape painters, among them Millet, Daubigny, and Rousseau.
    Barclays Bank, UK (no apos.).
    Barents Sea.
    bar mitzvah. Religious coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish boys; the ceremony for girls is a bat mitzvah. The plural is
mitzvoth
or
mitzvahs
.
    Barnard, Christiaan. (1922-2001) South African heart surgeon. Note
-aa-
in first name.
    Barnes & Noble. (Ampersand.)
    Barneys New York. (No apos.) Clothing retailer.
    Barnstable. Town and county, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but Barnstaple, England.
    Barnum, P(hineas) T(aylor). (1810-1891) American showman.
    baron, baroness, baronet. A
baron
has the lowest rank in the British nobility. A baronage can be either hereditary or nonhereditary. Holders of the latter are called life peers. A
baroness
is a woman who is the wife or widow of a baron, or a peer in her own right. In British contexts,
Lord
or
Lady
can be substituted for
Baron
or
Baroness
, e.g., Baron Baden-Powell is called Lord Baden-Powell. A
baronet
is not a peer; this is a hereditary title ranking below a peer but above a knight. See also BRITISH ARISTOCRACY .
    barracuda.
    Barrie, J. M. (formally Sir James Matthew Barrie) (1860-1937) Scottish writer, creator of Peter Pan.
    Barroso, José Manuel. (1956–) Portuguese politician, president of the European Commission (2004-2009).
    Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste. (1834-1904) French sculptor; designed Statue of Liberty.
    Bartholomew Day, August 24, but the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London (familiarly known as Bart’s ).
    Bartók, Béla. (1881-1945) Hungarian pianist and composer.
    Bartolommeo, Fra. (1475-1517) Florentine painter.
    Basel, Basle, Bâle. Third-largest city in Switzerland.
Basel
is the usual spelling in the United States and Germany;
Basle
is the usual spelling in Switzerland and Britain;
Bâle
is the usual spelling among French speakers.
    Baasescu, Traian. (1951–) President of Romania (2004–).
    Bashkortostan. Russian republic.
    BASIC. Short for Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code; computer programming language.
    basically. The trouble with this word, basically, is that it is almost always unnecessary.
    Basilicata. Region of Italy.
    basis. More often than not, a reliable indicator of wordiness, as here: “Det. Chief Supt. Peter Topping…said he would review the search on a day-to-day basis.” Why not make it “would review the search daily” and save five words?
    Basotho. The people of Lesotho.
    bas-relief.
    Basse-Normandie. Region of France; capital Caen.
    Basseterre. Capital of St. Kitts and Nevis.
    basset hound.
    Bastille Day. July 14 (1789).
    Bataan. Peninsula of the Philippines, famous for a long forced march of defeated Allied soldiers by Japanese in which many thousands died in World War II.
    bated breath, not
baited. Bated
is a cousin of
abated
and so implies something that is withheld.
    bathos. From the Greek
bathus,
meaning “deep,”
bathos
can be used to indicate the lowest point or nadir, or triteness and insincerity. But its usual use is in describing an abrupt descent from an elevated position to the commonplace. It is not the opposite of
pathos,
which has to do with feelings of pity or sympathy.
    Bathsheba. In the Old Testament, the wife of Uriah and then David, and mother of Solomon.
    bathyscaph. Research submarine.
    battalion.
    Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio.
    Baudelaire, Charles (Pierre). (1821-1867) French poet.
    Baudouin I, (Albert Charles Léopold Axel Marie Gustave). (1930-1993) King of the Belgians (1951-1993).
    Bauhaus. German school of arts and architecture, founded by Walter Gropius (1883-1969).
    Baum, L(yman) Frank. (1856-1919) American writer of