Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) Read Free

an egg;
albumin
is a protein within the albumen.
    Albuquerque, New Mexico.
    Alcaeus. (c. 600 BC ) Greek poet.
    Alcatraz. Island and former prison in San Francisco Bay.
    Alcibiades. (c. 450–404 BC ) Athenian statesman and general.
    Alcott, Louisa May. (1833-1888) American writer, daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888), author and philosopher.
    Aleixandre, Vicente. (1898-1984) Spanish poet, awarded Nobel Prize for Literature 1977. Pronounced
ah-lay-hahn
' -
dray
.
    Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
    alfalfa.
    Alfa-Romeo for the Italian make of automobile. Not
Alpha
-.
    Al-Fatah. Palestinian political organization. Drop
Al
when it is preceded by an article (“a Fatah spokesman,” “the Fatah organization”).
    Alfredsson, Daniel. (1972–) Swedish ice hockey player.
    Alfredsson, Helen. (1965–) Swedish professional golfer.
    alfresco. (One word.)
    algae is plural; a single organism is an alga.
    Algonquin Hotel, New York City.
    Algonquin Indians.
    algorithm.
    Ali, Muhammad. (1942–) American heavyweight boxer, three-time world champion; born Cassius Marcellus Clay.
    Ã  l’italienne. (Fr., no cap.) In the Italian style.
    alkali, pl.
alkalis, alkalies.
    al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa. (c. 780– C . 850) Arab mathematician, often called the father of algebra.
    Allahabad. City in Uttar Pradesh, India.
    allege, allegedly, allegation.
    Allegheny Mountains and Allegheny River, but Alleghany Corporation and Allegany for the town, county, Indian reservation, and state park in New York. The plural of the mountains is Alleghenies. In short, there is huge variation in the spelling from place to place, so double-check.
    Allen, William Hervey. (1889-1949) Not
Harvey
; American novelist.
    Allende, Salvador. (1908-1973) President of Chile (1970-73).
    All God’s Chillun Got Wings. Play by Eugene O’Neill (1924).
    Allhallowmass. (One word.) Alternative name for All Saints’ Day.
    all intents and purposes is a tautology; use just “to all intents.”
    All Nippon Airways. Not
-lines.
    allophone. In Canadian usage, someone who does not speak French.
    allot, allotted, allotting, allottable.
    all right. Not
alright.
    All Saints’ Day. November 1.
    All Souls College, Oxford University. Not
Souls
’, etc.
    all time. Many authorities object to this expression in constructions such as “She was almost certainly the greatest female sailor of all time” (
Daily Telegraph
) on the grounds that
all time
extends to the future as well as the past and we cannot possibly know what lies ahead. A no less pertinent consideration is that such assessments, as in the example just cited, are bound to be hopelessly subjective and therefore have no place in any measured argument.
    allusion. “When the speaker happened to name Mr. Gladstone, the allusion was received with loud cheers” (cited by Fowler). The word is not, as many suppose, a more impressive synonym for
reference
. When you allude to something, you do not specifically mention it but leave it to the reader to deduce the subject. Thus it would be correct to write, “In an allusion to the president, he said: ‘Some people make better oil men than politicians.’” The word is closer in meaning to
implication
or
suggestion
.
    Allyson, June. (1917-2006) American film actress; real name Ella Geisman.
    Al Manamah/Al Manama. Capital of Bahrain.
    Almaty. Largest city in Kazakhstan. The capital is Astana.
    Almodóvar, Pedro. (1949–) Spanish filmmaker.
    Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Department of France.
    Al Qaeda (from the Arabic
al-qa’ida
) is the most common spelling in American English for the terrorist group, but there are many variants, including commonly Al Qaida, al-Qaeda, and al-Qaida.
    Al Qahirah/El Qahira. Arabic name for Cairo.
    alright is never correct; make it all right.
    ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscle-wasting disease. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the baseball player who