by Bill Bryson
stanchion.
St. Andrews, (no apos.) Scotland, site of St. Andrews University and golf’s most revered course, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
St. Andrew’s Day. (Apos.) November 30.
Stanislavsky system. Method of acting named for Konstantin Stanislavsky, a Russian teacher.
Stansted Airport, England.
St. Antony’s College, Oxford University.
staphylococcus, a type of bacteria; pl. staphylococci.
starboard. The right-hand side of a ship when looking forward.
Stasi. Short for Staatssicherheitsdienst, Ministry for State Security in East Germany before unification.
stationary, stationery. The first means standing still, the second is writing paper and envelopes.
St. Barthélemy, French West Indies.
St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford University.
St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge University, but St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University.
St. Catherines, Ontario.
St. Christopher and Nevis, Federation of. Formal name of Caribbean state commonly known as St. Kitts-Nevis.
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, formerly Santa Cruz; pronounced kroy.
Steffens, Lincoln. (1866–1936) Campaigning American journalist.
Stendhal. (1783–1842) Not -dahl. Pen name of Marie Henri Beyle, French writer.
Sterne, Laurence. (1713–1768) English clergyman and writer.
stethoscope.
stevedore.
Stevens, Wallace. (1879–1955) American poet.
Stevenson, Adlai. (1900–1965) American Democratic politician, ran unsuccessfully for president in 1952 and 1956.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. (1850–1894) Scottish writer.
St.-Germain-des-Prés, Paris.
St. Helens, Mt. Volcano in Washington State, which famously erupted on May 18, 1980.
sticky.
Stieglitz, Alfred. (1864–1946) American photographer.
stiletto, pl. stilettos.
still lifes for the plural.
stilton for the cheese, but Stilton for the English village where it originated.
St. James Garlickhythe, London church.
St. James’s, not James’, for the London palace, park, and square. Diplomats likewise are posted to the Court of St. James’s.
St. Katharine’s Dock, London. Not Kather-.
St. Kitts and Nevis is the common name for the Caribbean state formally known as the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis; capital Basseterre. Residents are known as Kittians or Nevisians.
St. Maarten/St. Martin. Caribbean island divided into Dutch and French sides, respectively.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
St. Mary-le-Bow (hyphens), but St. Mary le Strand; London churches.
Stockhausen, Karlheinz. (1928–) German composer.
Stolichnaya. Brand of vodka.
stony.
Storey, David. (1933–) English novelist and playwright.
Storting. Norwegian parliament.
St. Pierre and Miquelon. French islands off east coast of Canada; formally they are a territorial collectivity.
Stradivarius. A violin or other stringed instrument made by Antonio Stradivari (c. 1645–1737).
straitjacket.
straitlaced.
Strasbourg, France.
strata, stratum. The first is sometimes used when the second is intended, as in “They dug into another strata and at last found what they were looking for.” A single level is a stratum. Strata signifies more than one.
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Commonly called “star wars” plan propounded by President Ronald Reagan to erect a shield of space weapons over the United States to stop incoming missiles.
Stratford-on-Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon. Most gazetteers and other reference sources give Stratford-upon-Avon as the correct name for the birthplace of William Shakespeare, but it is worth noting that the local authority calls itself Stratford-on-Avon District Council.
Strauss, Johann, the Younger. (1825–1899) Austrian composer known for waltzes, polkas, marches, and operettas. His father, Johann Strauss the Elder (1804–1849), brothers Eduard (1835–1916) and Josef (1827–1870), and son Johann Strauss III (1866–1939) were also composers. None of them should be confused with the next entry.
Strauss, Richard. (1864–1949) German composer of operas and other musical works.
Stravinsky, Igor. (1882–1971) Russian-born American composer.
Streep, Meryl. (1951–) American actress.
Streisand, Barbra. (1942–) American singer and actress; not Barbara.
Strindberg, August. (1849–1912) Swedish playwright and writer.
strived, strove. Either is acceptable.
Stroessner, Alfredo. (1912–2006) President of Paraguay (1954–1989).
Stroganoff. (Cap.) Strips of meat cooked in a sour-cream sauce.
strychnine.
St. Swithin’s (or Swithun’s) Day. July 15. According to legend, rain on that day will be followed by forty more days of rain.
Stuka. (Cap.) German dive bomber in World War II.
stupefy, stupefied, stupefaction. Don’t confuse the spelling with stupid.
Sturm und Drang. (Ger.) “Storm and stress.”
Stuttgart, Germany.
Stuyvesant, Peter. (1592–1672) Dutch governor of New Netherlands (1646–64), which later became New York.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Caribbean state; capital Kingstown.
stylus, pl. styluses/styli.
stymie. Thwart or immobilize.
Styrofoam is a trademark.
Styx. The river flowing around Hades.
submersible.
suborn does not mean undermine, as is sometimes thought; it is to induce someone into committing a wrongful act.
subpoena. A writ ordering a person to appear in court.
sub rosa. (Lat.) “Under the rose” in secret.
sub silentio. (Lat.) In silence.
substitute should be followed only by for. You substitute one thing for another. If you find yourself following the word with by or with or any other preposition, you should choose another verb.
subterranean.
succès d’estime. (Fr.) An undertaking that makes little or no profit but wins critical acclaim.
succès fou. (Fr.) A huge success, a smash hit.
succubus. A female evil spirit that has sexual relations with a man. A spirit that has intercourse with a sleeping female is an incubus.
Sucre. Official capital of Bolivia, although the seat of government is La Paz.
Sudetenland. German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia annexed by Hitler in 1938.
sudoku. Japanese number game. It is an abbreviation of suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru, “the numbers must be single.”
Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus). (c. 70–c. 160) Roman historian and biographer.
suggestible.
sui generis. (Lat.) In a class of its own.
suing.
sukiyaki. Japanese dish.
Suleiman I. (c. 1490–1566) Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1520–1566); called “the Magnificent.”
sulfur.
Sullavan, Margaret. (1911–1960) Not Sulli-. Hollywood actress.
Sully Prudhomme. Pen name of René François Armand Prudhomme (1839–1907), French poet; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1901.
Sulzberger, Arthur Ochs. (1926–) American newspaper publisher.
Sunni. Branch of Islam.
SunTrust Banks. U.S. banking group. Note SunTrust one word.
Sununu, John H(enry). (1939–) American Republican politician from New Hampshire.
Sun Yat-sen. (1866–1925) Chinese statesman and revolutionary.
Suomen Tasavalta. Finnish for “Republic of Finland.”
supersede is one of the most frequently misspelled of words. Note the final syllable is -sede, not -cede.
Surayud Chulanont, General. (1943–) Former prime minister of Thailand (2006�
�2008). On second reference he is General Surayud.
Suriname, Surinam. Confusion still sometimes arises concerning the name of this small South American country. The spelling Surinam can now safely be regarded as historic and Suriname as the preferred modern spelling. The Suriname River and Suriname toad also take the modern spellings. Suriname was formerly Dutch Guiana.
surreptitious.
surrounded means completely encircled. To say that something is “surrounded on three sides” is a poor use of the word.
surveillance.
survivor. Not -er.
susceptible.
Susquehanna River, eastern United States.
sustenance.
susurrate. Whisper.
suttee. Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
Suu Kyi, Aung San. (1945–) Burmese political activist, awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Suva. Capital of Fiji.
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok.
Suwannee River, southern United States; immortalized in songs as “the Swanee.”
Sverige. Swedish for Sweden.
Swayze, Patrick. (1952–) American actor.
Sweet ’N Low. Sugar substitute.
Swinburne, Algernon Charles. (1837–1909) English poet.
Swissair. (One word.) Former Swiss airline.
Swithin’s (or Swithun’s) Day, St. July 15. According to legend, rain on that day will be followed by forty days of the same.
sycamore. Tree.
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
syllabub (or sillabub). Type of dessert.
symbiosis. A relationship that benefits both parties.
Synge, J. M. (for John Millington). (1871–1909) Irish playwright.
synonym.
syphilis. Not -ll-.
syphon is acceptable, but siphon is generally preferred.
Szczecin, Poland; formerly Stettin.
Szechwan/Szechuan. Former spellings for the Chinese province that is now spelled Sichuan; the cuisine of the region, however, remains known in English by either of the earlier spellings.
Szilard, Leo. (1898–1964) Hungarian-born American physicist.
Szymborska, Wislawa. (1923–) Polish author; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature (1996).
Tt
tableau, pl. tableaux.
table d’hôte. Set meal at a fixed price.
tablespoonfuls.
tabula rasa. (Lat.) A blank slate, the mind at birth.
tachycardia. Abnormally fast heartbeat.
taffeta. Fabric.
tagliatelle. Type of pasta.
Taipei. Capital of Taiwan.
Taittinger champagne.
Taiwan. Formerly Formosa; officially the Republic of China, though that title is seldom used outside Taiwan itself.
Tajik for the language, Tajikistani for something that is from or of Tajikistan.
Taj Mahal. Celebrated mausoleum at Agra, India.
Takashimaya Company Limited. Leading Japanese retail group.
Takeshita, Noburu. (1924–2000) Japanese prime minister (1987–1989).
Taklimakan. Chinese desert.
Tale of a Tub, A. (Not The.) Satire by Jonathan Swift (1704).
Tales of Hoffmann, The. Opera by Jacques Offenbach (1881).
Taliban (or Taleban). Sunni Muslim insurgent force in Afghanistan.
Tallahassee. Capital of Florida.
Tallahatchie. River in Mississippi.
Tallinn. Capital of Estonia.
Talmud. Sacred Hebrew writings, the main body of laws for Judaism, comprising two parts: the Mishna, containing the laws themselves, and the Gemara, containing later commentaries and elaborations.
Tamaulipas, Mexico.
tambourine. Percussion instrument.
Tamburlaine the Great. Play by Christopher Marlowe; the Mongol conqueror himself is now usually spelled Tamerlane (1336–1405).
tameable.
Tammany Hall. Fraternal society of the Democratic Party in New York.
tam-o’-shanter. Scottish cap, named after the hero in the Burns poem “Tam o’Shanter.”
T’ang (or Tang). Chinese dynasty, ruled 618–907.
Tanguy, Yves. (1900–1955) French-born American painter.
Tantalus. In Greek mythology, a son of Zeus for whom food and drink forever move out of reach whenever he tries to attain them.
Tanzania. African nation formed by the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964; capital Dodoma.
Taoiseach. The prime minister of Ireland; pronounced “tea-sock.”
taradiddle (or tarradiddle). Nonsense.
tarantella. Type of Neapolitan dance. Not to be confused with tarantula, the type of spider.
Tar Heels (two words) for people and things associated with North Carolina, and for the sporting teams of the University of North Carolina.
tariff.
tarpaulin.
tartar. A sauce; dental plaque.
Tartar. Intractable, violent person; member of a Turkic-speaking people in central Asia.
Tartuffe. Play by Molière (1664).
Tashkent. Capital of Uzbekistan.
TASS. Short for Telegrafnoye Agenstvo Sovyetskovo Soyuza, Soviet news agency; now called ITAR-TASS News Agency.
Tate Gallery, the London art museum, now consists of four separate branches: Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, and Tate Liverpool and Tate St. Ives in the provinces.
tattoo.
Taufa’ahau Tupou IV. (1918–2006) King of Tonga (1965–2006).
tautology, redundancy, pleonasm, solecism. Although various authorities describe various shades of distinction between the first three words, those distinctions are generally slight and frequently contradictory. Essentially all three mean using more words than necessary to convey an idea. Not all repetition is inexcusable. It may be used for effect, as in poetry, or for clarity, or in deference to idiom. “OPEC countries,” “SALT talks,” and “HIV virus” are all technically redundant because the second word is already contained in the preceding abbreviation, but only the ultra-finicky would deplore them. Similarly, in “wipe that smile off your face,” the last two words are tautological—there is no other place a smile could be—but the sentence would not stand without them. Finally, solecism describes any violation of idiom or grammar. Redundancies, tautologies, and pleonasms are all solecisms.
taxiing for the act of moving a plane into position.
taxonomy. The science of classification of organisms.
Tay-Sachs disease. Genetic disorder that affects the nervous system.
Tbilisi. Formerly Tiflis; capital of Georgia.
Tchaikovsky, Peter Illich. (1840–1893) Russian composer.
Teamsters, International Brotherhood of. Trade union.
Teatro alla Scala. Formal name of the Milan opera house commonly called La Scala.
Technicolor. (Cap.)
tectonics. Not tech-; study of the structure and movement of Earth’s crust.
Te Deum. Latin hymn.
tee-hee. The sound of laughter.
teetotaler.
Tegucigalpa. Capital of Honduras.
Tehachapi Mountains, California.
Tehran. Capital of Iran.
Tehuntepec, Isthmus of. Narrowest part of Mexico.
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. (1881–1955) French scientist, priest, and philosopher.
Telefónica. Spanish telecommunications company.
Telemachus. In Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope.
Telstar. Communications satellite.
temblor, not trem-, for an earthquake.
temporary respite is redundant; all respites are temporary.
tempus fugit. (Lat.) “Time flies.”
tendentious. Biased.
Tenerife, Canary Islands.
Tennyson, Alfred, Baron. (1809–1892) English poet; poet laureate (1850–92); known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Tenochtitlán. Aztec capital on site of modern Mexico City.
> Teotihuacán. Site of ancient Mexican city.
tepee. Not tee-; North American Indian tent.
tequila.
tera-. Prefix meaning 1 trillion.
Terence. Properly Publius Terentius Afer (c. 190–159 BC); Roman comedy writer.
teriyaki. Japanese marinated meat dish.
terminus, pl. termini/terminuses.
terracotta.
terra firma. Dry land.
terra incognita. (Lat.) Unknown territory.
terrazzo. Stone flooring material.
terrine. An earthenware bowl, and the food prepared in it.
Tesla, Nikola. (1857–1943) Croatian-American scientist and inventor.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Novel by Thomas Hardy (1891).
tetchy. Touchy, ill-tempered.
tête-à-tête.
Tevere. Italian name for the Tiber River.
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England; but Tewksbury, Massachusetts.
TGV. Train à Grande Vitesse, high-speed French train.
Thackeray, William Makepeace. (1811–1863) English novelist.
thalassic. Pertaining to the sea.
thalassocracy. Dominance of the seas.
than. Three small but common problems need noting.
1. In comparative constructions than is often wrongly used, as here: “Nearly twice as many people die under 20 in France than in Great Britain” (cited by Gowers). Make it “as in Great Britain.”
2. It is wrongly used after hardly in sentences such as this: “Hardly had I landed at Liverpool than the Mikado’s death recalled me to Japan” (cited by Fowler). Make it “No sooner had I landed than” or “Hardly had I landed when.”
3. It is often a source of ambiguity in sentences of the following type: “She likes tennis more than me.” Does this mean that she likes tennis more than I do or that she likes tennis more than she likes me? In such cases, it is better to supply a second verb if it avoids ambiguity, e.g., “She likes tennis more than she likes me” or “She likes tennis more than I do.”
Thanksgiving Day. Fourth Thursday in November in the United States, second Monday in October in Canada.
that (as a conjunction). Whether you say “I think you are wrong” or “I think that you are wrong” is partly a matter of idiom but mostly a matter of preference. Some words usually require that (assert, contend, maintain) and some usually do not (say, think), but there are no hard rules. On the whole, it is better to dispense with that when it isn’t necessary.