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Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors
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.”
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.”
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
82 people are currently reading
1,508 people want to read
About the author
Bill Bryson
120 books21.5k followersBill Bryson is a bestselling American-British author known for his witty and accessible nonfiction books spanning travel, science, and language. He rose to prominence with Notes from a Small Island (1995), an affectionate portrait of Britain, and solidified his global reputation with A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a popular science book that won the Aventis and Descartes Prizes. Raised in Iowa, Bryson lived most of his adult life in the UK, working as a journalist before turning to writing full-time. His other notable works include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and The Mother Tongue. Bryson served as Chancellor of Durham University (2005–2011) and received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including an honorary OBE and election as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. Though he announced his retirement from writing in 2020, he remains one of the most beloved voices in contemporary nonfiction, with over 16 million books sold worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 25, 2008
Dictionaries in general are wonderful thieves of time. How often one gets distracted, meandering from word to word, even forgetting the reason for opening the book in the first place. Well, Bryson's Dictionary is different. Yes, it is good for reference, giving the trickier spellings, words which are often confused, British and American uses and so on, but for a writer it can also be read from cover to cover for the sheer enjoyment of discovery. And it has the advantage that it can be put down at any point without losing the plot!
July 15, 2012
If Bernstein's the acknowledged expert on English grammar, Bill Bryson is the most famous living expert who share's his knowledge with a pinch of humility and humor.
I met Bryson reading his Short History of Nearly Everything. Therein lay the seeds of my initial distrust. How could an author who wrote such an enthralling historic book like Short History switch genres and write a successful dictionary? Shouldn't that be the job of a bibliophile or Mr. Webster's great grandson? Despite my misgivings, I decided to give it a try. Anyone who could distill history into 480 pages must have the see-the-forest-for-the-trees ability to decide on the need-to-know grammar required for a budding author. After all, I needed to spend the minutes stolen from my day job on what would quickly kick-start my authorial expertise. I'd get to 'everything' later.
So, despite my misgivings and with a nod for the appeal of humor in the dry world of word study, I bought Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors (Broadway Books, 1994). It didn't disappoint. 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." It not only includes dictionary-appropriate word meanings, but factual details that writers might get wrong. On the one hand, he discusses the difference in meaning between 'a' and 'an', and then later, he shares the meaning of Au secours! (a cry for help). He seems to include 1) whatever struck him as interesting or relevant based on his own personal writing experiences, and 2) what he considers critical to be a successful writer--well-beyond plot, characters and story arc. Many entries have his notes/definitions/explanations, but some include just the word, there for a writers' ruminations. To that end, the book is a fascinating stroll through Bryson's writing mind.
Here are some of the gems I found:
* the difference between 'autarchy' and 'autarky'
* 'auxiliary' has one 'l'
* the difference between 'avenge' and 'revenge'
* difference between 'before' and 'prior to'
* what BMW stands for
* difference between 'bimonthly' and 'biweekly'
* what is carpaccio
* 'chickenpox' is one word
* how to translate Chinese names to English
* difference between 'compare to' and 'compare with'
* difference between 'compel' and 'impel'
* what does 'Dum spiro, spero' mean ('While I breathe, there is hope.')
* difference between 'fewer' and 'less' (the former covers singular nouns; the latter, plural)
* the difference between 'gibe' and 'jibe'
* what's a 'haggis' (Scottish dish)
* 'Lacy' has no e
* 'Laddie' isn't spelled 'laddy'
* what's a 'macaronic verse' (a type of poetry in which two or more languges are mingled)
* what's 'ochlocracy'? (government by mob)
* difference between 'regretfully' and 'regrettably'
I met Bryson reading his Short History of Nearly Everything. Therein lay the seeds of my initial distrust. How could an author who wrote such an enthralling historic book like Short History switch genres and write a successful dictionary? Shouldn't that be the job of a bibliophile or Mr. Webster's great grandson? Despite my misgivings, I decided to give it a try. Anyone who could distill history into 480 pages must have the see-the-forest-for-the-trees ability to decide on the need-to-know grammar required for a budding author. After all, I needed to spend the minutes stolen from my day job on what would quickly kick-start my authorial expertise. I'd get to 'everything' later.
So, despite my misgivings and with a nod for the appeal of humor in the dry world of word study, I bought Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors (Broadway Books, 1994). It didn't disappoint. 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." It not only includes dictionary-appropriate word meanings, but factual details that writers might get wrong. On the one hand, he discusses the difference in meaning between 'a' and 'an', and then later, he shares the meaning of Au secours! (a cry for help). He seems to include 1) whatever struck him as interesting or relevant based on his own personal writing experiences, and 2) what he considers critical to be a successful writer--well-beyond plot, characters and story arc. Many entries have his notes/definitions/explanations, but some include just the word, there for a writers' ruminations. To that end, the book is a fascinating stroll through Bryson's writing mind.
Here are some of the gems I found:
* the difference between 'autarchy' and 'autarky'
* 'auxiliary' has one 'l'
* the difference between 'avenge' and 'revenge'
* difference between 'before' and 'prior to'
* what BMW stands for
* difference between 'bimonthly' and 'biweekly'
* what is carpaccio
* 'chickenpox' is one word
* how to translate Chinese names to English
* difference between 'compare to' and 'compare with'
* difference between 'compel' and 'impel'
* what does 'Dum spiro, spero' mean ('While I breathe, there is hope.')
* difference between 'fewer' and 'less' (the former covers singular nouns; the latter, plural)
* the difference between 'gibe' and 'jibe'
* what's a 'haggis' (Scottish dish)
* 'Lacy' has no e
* 'Laddie' isn't spelled 'laddy'
* what's a 'macaronic verse' (a type of poetry in which two or more languges are mingled)
* what's 'ochlocracy'? (government by mob)
* difference between 'regretfully' and 'regrettably'
August 25, 2015
Reading a dictionary is typically not the most entertaining read. This amazing book was entertaining, enlightening, and informative. I checked it out through the library, but will be buying a copy for my own shelves soon. It has changed the way I thought about words, constructing sentences and will in the future improve my writing greatly, I believe.
March 27, 2020
informative .. would recommend
September 20, 2010
BRYSON'S DICTIONARY FOR WRITERS AND EDITORS BY BILL BRYSON: Bestselling author Bill Bryson has already amassed quite a career for himself with successful travel writing books like A Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country, as well as books on literature and language like The Mother Tongue and Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, and even attempting to present a concise history of science with A Short History of Nearly Everything; Bryson now returns with Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors.
He admits in his preface that it is a personal collection, "built over thirty years as a writer and editor in two countries," and that some of the obscure references and definitions may not be useful to many, like the name of the Sydney district Woolloomooloo, or that the residence of the Danish Royal Family in Copenhagen is the Amalienborg Palace. Nevertheless, Bryson addresses many of the common issues that make a writer hesitate – amoral or immoral? Effect or affect?. He dispenses with the dictionary’s phonetic alphabet, instead providing pronunciation help where necessary; as well as cross indexing so that in the example mentioned above, the entry can be found filed under both amoral and immoral for the writer's and editor's ease.
Bryson's Dictionary is filled with innumerable references and spellings for authors, book titles, series, philosophers, scientists . . . you name it, making them even easier to find than looking up on the Internet. Bryson also includes appendices of punctuation and its definitions, words ending in –able and –ible, a list of the world's airports and their codes, the different currencies of the world, conversion tables, and an extensive glossary on grammar.
Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors is the ideal book for most people who do any sort of reading and writing, whether it is the freshman heading off for college for the first time, the freelance writer looking to get published, or the retired crossword addict looking for exact spelling at their fingertips.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
He admits in his preface that it is a personal collection, "built over thirty years as a writer and editor in two countries," and that some of the obscure references and definitions may not be useful to many, like the name of the Sydney district Woolloomooloo, or that the residence of the Danish Royal Family in Copenhagen is the Amalienborg Palace. Nevertheless, Bryson addresses many of the common issues that make a writer hesitate – amoral or immoral? Effect or affect?. He dispenses with the dictionary’s phonetic alphabet, instead providing pronunciation help where necessary; as well as cross indexing so that in the example mentioned above, the entry can be found filed under both amoral and immoral for the writer's and editor's ease.
Bryson's Dictionary is filled with innumerable references and spellings for authors, book titles, series, philosophers, scientists . . . you name it, making them even easier to find than looking up on the Internet. Bryson also includes appendices of punctuation and its definitions, words ending in –able and –ible, a list of the world's airports and their codes, the different currencies of the world, conversion tables, and an extensive glossary on grammar.
Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors is the ideal book for most people who do any sort of reading and writing, whether it is the freshman heading off for college for the first time, the freelance writer looking to get published, or the retired crossword addict looking for exact spelling at their fingertips.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
February 8, 2009
Delightful to meander through, this "dictionary" limits itself to words and topics that editors must frequently fact-check. The words phrases and abbreviations are listed alphabetically, and I imagine it would be useful were I an editor. As a person who merely enjoys words, I found that it did not work well as a reference. (I tried to look one thing up that turned out not to be listed, a random test, but a test failed nevertheless.) I laughed aloud several times at the concise and opinionated phrasing of Bill Bryson. He really has a gift for this!
April 7, 2011
How lucky writers and editors are to have this reference work from Bill Bryson!
A bestselling author himself across a variety of creative nonfiction genres, in this book he's opened up his toolkit to improve the craft of harried writers and perfectionist writers everywhere.
He keeps his prose simple and concise, but his signature humor is there and his aptitude for storytelling.
I say this every time I review one of his books: Bill Bryson is the best living writer in the English language.
A bestselling author himself across a variety of creative nonfiction genres, in this book he's opened up his toolkit to improve the craft of harried writers and perfectionist writers everywhere.
He keeps his prose simple and concise, but his signature humor is there and his aptitude for storytelling.
I say this every time I review one of his books: Bill Bryson is the best living writer in the English language.
January 6, 2011
My parents sent this to me as a birthday present.
Update: I'm reading a few pages of this every night before bed. I'm really enjoying it. If you are the sort of person who has a favorite dictionary, you should check this out.
Update: I'm reading a few pages of this every night before bed. I'm really enjoying it. If you are the sort of person who has a favorite dictionary, you should check this out.
March 14, 2018
Those who have only read Bill Bryson's "A Walk in The Woods", need to read his "Dictionary for Writers and Editors". The Dictionary is useful, and quite engaging to read (well, engaging to a word nerd, reaching out to other fellow word nerd fans).
December 24, 2019
Not one to read all at once, but a wonderful reference to many of the troubling questions that plague writers.
March 8, 2023
This is the first time that I have read a dictionary from cover to cover, but as it is a "guide for writers", I wanted to make sure that I did not miss anything.
I didn't, and what I caught were what I called "numerous duplications" here.
For example, the word cord or chord, is listed twice, under both spellings. homophones and there are many in this book, are treated this way, thus lengthening the text and causing much repetition.
This is a reference book, so that is understandable.
I found some mistakes in the definitions, such as the Irish mountain Carrantuohill, (the tallest mountain in Ireland) is listed here at 31,414 ', when it is listed by other sources at 3,407 ', which is much more likely!
I am done nit-picking. Go ahead and add this fine book to your desk library, you will learn much and avoid many, many mistakes in using the English language.
I didn't, and what I caught were what I called "numerous duplications" here.
For example, the word cord or chord, is listed twice, under both spellings. homophones and there are many in this book, are treated this way, thus lengthening the text and causing much repetition.
This is a reference book, so that is understandable.
I found some mistakes in the definitions, such as the Irish mountain Carrantuohill, (the tallest mountain in Ireland) is listed here at 31,414 ', when it is listed by other sources at 3,407 ', which is much more likely!
I am done nit-picking. Go ahead and add this fine book to your desk library, you will learn much and avoid many, many mistakes in using the English language.
October 12, 2022
Indispensable
If you are a writer, you need this book. It lists, alphabetically, words and phrases that might cause problems. Then, at the end of the book, Bryson has included tables for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa, abbreviations for major airports, the monetary units of most countries and so much more. I read it cover to cover and would be happy if I could remember one hundredth of what I read, but that isn't necessary as I have the book to consult.
If you are a writer, you need this book. It lists, alphabetically, words and phrases that might cause problems. Then, at the end of the book, Bryson has included tables for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa, abbreviations for major airports, the monetary units of most countries and so much more. I read it cover to cover and would be happy if I could remember one hundredth of what I read, but that isn't necessary as I have the book to consult.
August 21, 2022
Personally, I prefer my own notebook of peculiar spellings in my writing and my thesaurus, three dictionaries and common sense (and ProWritingAid) when editing and proofing my work, but each their own.
This book is basically the author’s notebook of things he has to look up regularly and now shared with others. Not for me, but others might find it useful.
This book is basically the author’s notebook of things he has to look up regularly and now shared with others. Not for me, but others might find it useful.
February 18, 2010
Initial thoughts are that there's a lot of info I wouldn't look to this book for. If I have trouble with spelling or pronunciation I'd look at dictionary.com which references several dictionaries. Otherwise I might look something up in his book that wouldn't be in there. So, as a reference book, this doesn't seem very handy but as a general info for a quick read-through, pretty interesting. I think I'll keep it in the bathroom until I've read it.
OK, it's been in the bathroom for awhile and it just isn't interesting reading. It's a reference book. It's occasionally got some interesting information but it's layered in with words like Citroen, the French automobile and tornedos, choice cut or cuts of beef or the difference between a trademark and a trade name.
It's just easier to look stuff up on the web.
OK, it's been in the bathroom for awhile and it just isn't interesting reading. It's a reference book. It's occasionally got some interesting information but it's layered in with words like Citroen, the French automobile and tornedos, choice cut or cuts of beef or the difference between a trademark and a trade name.
It's just easier to look stuff up on the web.
July 24, 2008
my god, what ego this book represents. It's a dictionary, of words and phrases that Bryson has found or thinks you will find troublesome/interesting. Many without definitions? So, you get to hear about the difference between leech and leach and lay and lie, and how some (what fools!) confuse laudable and laudatory. Its a highly personal book, that he compiled over many many years--pre home computer years-- but still, it seems almost totally useless. I would either use a regular dictionary (my favorite is the american heritage) or, I would look it up. The two stars represent the fact that I like the idea of personal dictionaries..in theory.
September 3, 2009
This book was so excellent. Bryson includes all variety of useful things, from definitions to the correct spelling of confusing words, to cross-references and connotations that may get a "serious" writer into trouble. Bryson bases some of his entries on opinion, but in most cases, his opinion is itself based on a long and illustrious writing career as well as multiple referenced sources. In only a few cases did I disagree with his logic, and only once did I find an actual mistake Ulysses was not the leader of the Greek army).
Read
June 14, 2011I don't know if I can really say I "read" this because it is a reference book. I checked it out and looked through it, but nothing captured my attention. It is the kind of book I wish I owned so that when I do have one of those weird language or spelling questions (like "Do you capitalize rock and roll?"), I would have a resource. I like Bryson a lot, but this isn't quite as entertaining as most of his travelogues and other books.
November 10, 2012
Mea culpa. It's not Bryson's fault but entirely my own.
Whenever I want to check the spelling of a word or its meaning, I wouldn't come to this book; I knew it before I clicked 'buy'. So why did I? Bryson, I guess.
Not a great dictionary, not a great book. Still an entertaining piece to kill time reading a couple of words or pages at a time while you wait for your flight to be called or the cab to arrive.
Whenever I want to check the spelling of a word or its meaning, I wouldn't come to this book; I knew it before I clicked 'buy'. So why did I? Bryson, I guess.
Not a great dictionary, not a great book. Still an entertaining piece to kill time reading a couple of words or pages at a time while you wait for your flight to be called or the cab to arrive.
September 20, 2013
I'm "finished" with perusing through this fascinating writing resource. It's not so much a book one reads cover to cover (unless you have a habit of reading dictionaries cover to cover for fun, I'm definitely not one to judge since I do enjoy the Online Etymology Dictionary). This is more a book to test the waters and see if it is indeed a good resource for writers, and as an amateur writer, I think it's one worth having on the shelves at home.
August 29, 2015
"Read" is the wrong term here. It's a reference, so "flipped through" is more accurate. If I find myself doing a lot of copyediting again it might be useful to add to my collection--most of the info is available in other places, including online with a quick Google search, but as Bryson points out, it's nice to have it in one place so you don't have to hunt for it.
Want to read
July 27, 2010(adding to the title)...and People Who Give a Damn about Grammar, Usage and Correctness
I'm really excited to have this book join my library. Sometimes, a dictionary just isn't enough and Google is just beyond reach (no internet access).
I'm really excited to have this book join my library. Sometimes, a dictionary just isn't enough and Google is just beyond reach (no internet access).
November 1, 2010
This is a really fun collection of trivia and information for writers. It isn't the kind of book that you read cover to cover, but one that I'll pick up often when I have a few moments and just want to learn something new and interesting.
October 5, 2011
A fun reference book for spelling, misused phrases and the like It is perfect for those times when you are not sure if you should use effect or affect - Bryson puts them together and gives the meaning of each.
May 20, 2008
I'll be using this book for years to come. Not just for writers, but for anyone who enjoys trivia (or just knowing more stuff).
September 16, 2008
I skimmed this, because, well, it's a dictionary. But I had to pick it up since it's by one of my favorite authors.
February 3, 2009
Good to have on hand for anyone who likes to read... a reference book you can pick up, randomly select a page, read for 2 mins, and learn 10 things.
June 10, 2009
An enjoyable book to flick through and dip into. Even Bryson's humour comes through in his explanations. A great dictionary for writers and people who just can't spell!
February 3, 2010
Fascinated and obsessed by the first 50 pages, then got (expectedly) repetitive. Still, I learned a lot and am glad I pushed on through.
Read
May 18, 2010Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors by Bill Bryson (2008)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews