by Bill Bryson
ultimatums.
ululate. To howl or hoot.
Uluru is the formal, and generally preferred, name for Ayers Rock in Australia; pronounced oo-luh-roo. It is part of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The resort alongside it is Yulara.
Ulysses/Odysseus. Two names for the same person: the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan war. The first is Latin, the second Greek.
Umayyad Dynasty. Muslim empire (661–750).
umbilicus. The umbilical cord.
unadulterated.
un-American, un-French, etc.
unanimous, unanimity.
una voce. (Lat.) With one voice, unanimously.
unbiased.
unbribable.
unchristian, but non-Christian.
UNCTAD. United Nations Conference on (not for) Trade and Development, agency set up in 1964 with the purpose of smoothing trade differences between nations and promoting economic development.
unctuous. Oily.
underdog. (One word.)
Underground. (Cap.) London subway system.
Under Milk Wood. (Three words.) Dylan Thomas play (1954).
under way. (Two words.)
un-English, un-British, etc.
UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
unexceptionable, unexceptional. Something that is unexceptional is ordinary, not outstanding (“an unexceptional wine”). Something that is unexceptionable is not open to objections (“In Britain, grey is the preferred spelling, but gray is unexceptionable”).
Ungaretti, Giuseppe. (1888–1970) Italian poet.
unget-at-able. Note unget is one word.
unguent. Soothing cream or lotion.
UNHCR. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
unicameral legislature. A legislature having just one chamber.
UNICEF. United Nations Children’s Fund (formerly, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund).
UNIDO. United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
unilateral, bilateral, multilateral are slightly numbing words and are often unneeded anyway, as in “Bilateral trade talks are to take place next week between Britain and Japan.” Trade talks between Britain and Japan could hardly be other than two-sided. More often than not the context makes clear how much laterality is involved.
uninterested, disinterested. The first means not caring; the second means neutral.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (Abbr. USSR.) In Russian, Soyuz Sovyetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; ceased to exist in 1991. See also SOVIET UNION.
unique means the only one of its kind. A thing cannot be “more unique” or “one of the most unique,” etc.
unison. All together.
Unisys. U.S. computer company.
United Airlines. (Abbr. UAL.) Not Air Lines.
United Arab Emirates. Formerly the Trucial States; composed of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujaira, Ras al Khaima, Sharja, and Umm al Qaiwain.
United Arab Republic. (Abbr. UAR.) Title used by Egypt and Syria together (1958–61) and by Egypt alone (1961–1971).
UnitedHealth Group. Health services company. Note UnitedHealth is one word.
United Kingdom. Formally, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
University College London. (No comma.)
unknown is often used imprecisely, as here: “A hitherto unknown company called Ashdown Oil has emerged as a bidder for the Wytch Farm oil interests.” A company must be known to someone, if only its directors. It would be better to call it a little-known company.
unlabeled.
unless and until. One or the other, please.
unlicensed.
unmanageable.
unmistakable.
unmovable.
unnamable.
unnatural. Note -nn-.
unnecessary. Note -nn-.
unnerved. Note -nn-.
unnumbered. Note-nn-.
unparalleled.
unpractical/impractical. The words are synonyms.
unraveled.
unridable.
UNRRA. United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
unselfconscious.
unshakable.
until, till, ’til, ’till. The first two are legitimate and interchangeable. The second two are wrong and, indeed, illiterate.
untimely death is often somewhat fatuous; few deaths are timely.
ununbiium, ununhexium, ununnilium, ununquadium, unununium. Chemical elements all discovered or first produced between 1994 and 2000.
unwieldy.
up-and-coming. (Hyphens.)
Upanishads. Ancient Hindu metaphysical treatises.
UPI. United Press International.
Upper Volta. Former name of Burkina Faso.
Uppsala, Sweden.
upsilon. Not -ll-. Twentieth letter of the Greek alphabet.
upsy-daisy.
Urdang, Laurence. (1927–) American lexicographer.
uremia. Toxic blood condition associated with kidney failure.
urethra. Urinary duct; pl. urethrae or urethras.
Uriah Heep. Character in Dickens’s David Copperfield.
Uribe, Álvaro. (1952–) President of Colombia (2002–).
URL. Abbreviation of uniform resource locator, technospeak for a Web address on the Internet.
Urquhart. Scottish family name; pronounced erk'-ert.
Ursa Major, Ursa Minor. Constellations meaning respectively Big Bear and Little Bear.
ursine. Like or of a bear.
Ursuline. Order of nuns.
Uruguay. South American republic; capital Montevideo.
USAF. United States Air Force.
usage, use. The words are largely interchangeable. In general, usage appears in contexts involving languages (“modern English usage”) and use in most other cases.
US Airways. Formerly USAir.
USB. Short for Universal Serial Bus.
US Bancorp. American banking group.
US Cellular Field. Home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team.
use, usage. Usage normally appears only in the context of formal practices, particularly in regard to linguistics (“modern English usage”), and use does duty for all other senses, but most dictionaries recognize the words as interchangeable in nearly all contexts. See also UTILIZE, USE.
USSR. See UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS.
usufruct. The right to use another’s property so long as no damage is done, as with walking on a path across farmland.
usury. The practice of lending money at a grossly inflated rate of interest; the adjectival form is usurious.
Uther Pendragon. Legendary father of King Arthur.
utilize, use. Utilize is the preferred term for making use of something that wasn’t intended for the purpose (“He utilized a coat hanger to repair the car”) or for extracting maximum value (“The farmers utilized every square inch of the hillside”). In other senses use is generally better.
Utrillo, Maurice. (1883–1955) French artist.
Utsunomiya, Honshu, Japan.
Uttar Pradesh. Indian state; capital Lucknow.
utterance.
Utzon, Jørn. (1918–) Danish architect, best known for designing Sydney Opera House.
uvula. The piece of flesh hanging at the back of the mouth above the throat.
uxoricide. The murder of a wife by her husband, and the man who commits such a crime.
Uzbekistan. Former Soviet republic, now an independent country; capital Tashkent.
Vv
vacillate.
vade-mecum. A handbook carried on the person for constant use.
vagary, pl. vagaries.
vagrant, vagrancy.
Vaishnava. Hindu devotee of Vishnu.
Vajpayee, Atal Bihari. (1924–) Prime minister of India (1996, 1998–2004).
valance, valence. The first is a short
drapery; the second is a term from chemistry to describe molecular bonding.
Val-d’Isère. Ski resort in French Alps.
valediction. A farewell speech; adj. valedictory.
Valenciennes lace.
Valera, Éamon de. (1882–1975) U.S.-born prime minister of Ireland (1919–1921, 1932–1948, 1957–1959) and president (1959–1973).
valetudinarian. A person, particularly an invalid, obsessed with his or her health.
Valhalla. In Norse mythology, a great hall of slain warriors.
valiant.
Valium. (Cap.) Brand of tranquilizer.
Valkyrie. In Norse mythology, one of the twelve handmaidens of Odin.
Valladolid. Province and city in Castile, Spain.
Valle d’Aosta. Region of Italy.
Valletta. Capital of Malta.
vamoose. To flee or leave hurriedly.
Van Alen, William. (1883–1954) American architect who designed Chrysler Building, New York. Note unusual spelling of Alen.
Vanbrugh, Sir John. (1664–1726) English architect and playwright.
Van Buren, Martin. (1782–1862) U.S. president (1837–1841).
Van de Graaff, Robert J(emison). (1901–1967) American physicist and inventor of the Van de Graaff generator.
van der Post, Sir Laurens. (1906–1996) South African writer and explorer.
Vandross, Luther. (1951–2005) American entertainer.
Vandyke (or Van Dyck), Sir Anthony. (1599–1641) Born Anton Van Dijck, but that spelling is almost never encountered outside his native Belgium. In America his name is usually rendered as Sir Anthony Vandyke, though Van Dyck (the spelling favored in Britain) is also sometimes found. In both countries, objects associated with him are spelled Vandyke—e.g., “a Vandyke beard,” “a Vandyke collar.”
Vänern. Largest lake in Sweden.
van Eyck, Jan. (c. 1380–1440) Flemish painter.
van Gogh, Vincent. (1853–1890) Dutch painter.
Vanuatu. Island republic in the South Pacific, formerly the New Hebrides; capital Port-Vila (or Port Vila, without hyphen).
vaquero. Spanish for “cowboy.”
Vargas, Getúlio Dornelles. (1883–1954) President of Brazil (1930–1945, 1951–1954).
varicella. Medical name for chickenpox.
varicose veins.
variegated.
various different is inescapably repetitive.
VDU. Visual display unit, a computer screen.
Veblen, Thorstein. (1857–1929) American economist.
Vecchio, Palazzo, Florence, Italy. The famous bridge across the Arno is the Ponte Vecchio.
VE Day (or V-E Day). May 8, 1945, the date of the Allied victory in Europe in World War II.
veins, but venous.
Velázquez (or Velásquez), Diego Rodríguez de Silva y. (1599–1660) Spanish painter.
veld (pref.)/veldt (alt.). Grassland.
vellum. The finest type of parchment.
venal, venial. Venial, from the Latin venialis (“forgivable”), means excusable; a venial sin is a minor one. Venal means corruptible. It comes from the Latin venalis (“for sale”) and describes someone who is capable of being bought.
vendetta.
vendible.
veneer.
venerable.
venerate, worship. Although in figurative senses the words are interchangeable, in religious contexts worship should apply only to God. Roman Catholics, for instance, worship God but venerate saints.
Venezuela. South American republic; capital Caracas.
vengeance.
Veni, vidi, vici. (Lat.) “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
venomous.
venous. Pertaining to veins.
ventilator.
ventre à terre. (Fr.) Full out, at top speed.
ventricles for the heart valves. Not ventricals.
Venus’ fly-trap. (Note apos.)
veranda is the preferred spelling, but verandah is acceptable.
verbal agreement, because it can mean either a written or spoken agreement, can be ambiguous. Where the manner of agreeing is important, it is generally better to describe it as an oral or a written agreement.
verbatim means in exactly the same words.
verboten. (Ger.) Forbidden.
verdant. Green.
Verdi, Giuseppe. (1813–1901) Italian opera composer.
verdigris. Green rust on copper or brass.
verisimilitude. Air of truth, the quality of being realistic.
Vermeer, Jan. (1632–1696) Dutch painter.
vermicelli. Type of pasta.
vermilion (one l) for the color, but Vermillion (two l’s) for the towns in Kansas and South Dakota.
vermouth.
vernal. Pertaining to the spring, as in vernal equinox.
Veronese, Paolo. (1528–1588) Italian painter; born Paolo Cagliari.
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York City.
Verrocchio, Andrea del. (1436–1488) Italian painter and sculptor.
Versailles. Palace near Paris.
vertebra, pl. vertebrae.
Verwoerd, Hendrik. (1901–1966) Dutch-born South African prime minister (1958–1966).
very should be made to pay its way in sentences. Too often it is used where it adds nothing to sense (“It was a very tragic death”) or is inserted in a futile effort to prop up a weak word that would be better replaced by something with more punch (“The play was very good”).
Vespucci, Amerigo. (1454–1512) Italian navigator and explorer after whom America was named.
vestibule. Entrance room or hall.
Veterans Administration. (No apos.) Former name of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
vetoes.
Veuve Clicquot. Champagne.
vexatious.
VHF. Very high frequency.
via, meaning “by way of,” indicates the direction of a journey and not the means by which the journey is achieved. It is correct to say “We flew from London to Sydney via Singapore,” but not “We traveled to the islands via seaplane.”
viable does not mean feasible or promising, senses in which it is frequently used. It means capable of independent existence. A fetus is viable if it can live outside the womb.
Via Dolorosa. Jerusalem; “Way of sadness” route taken by Jesus to the Crucifixion.
Vianchang. Capital of Laos; formerly called Vientiane.
vicereine. Female viceroy; the wife of a viceroy.
vichyssoise. Soup. Note -ss-.
vicious.
vicissitude. A change of circumstance. Although there is no compelling reason for it, the word is almost always used in the plural.
victualer. A provider of food and drink; pronouned vittler.
vie, vying.
Vientiane. Capital of Laos, now called Vianchang.
Vietcong, Vietminh. (Each one word.)
Vietnam. (One word.) Southeast Asian nation; capital Hanoi.
Vieux Carré. French quarter of New Orleans.
vigilance, vigilant, vigilante.
vignette. A decoration or sketch; an image with no definite border; a literary sketch.
vilify. Not -ll-. Defame.
Villa-Lobos, Heitor. (1887–1959) Not Hector. Brazilian composer.
Villaraigosa, Antonio. (1953–) Mayor of Los Angeles (2005–).
Ville Lumière. (Fr.) “City of light,” nickname of Paris.
Villette. Novel by Charlotte Brontë (1853).
vinaigrette. A kind of salad dressing.
vin ordinaire. (Fr.) Inexpensive wine.
Virgil. Anglicized name of Publius Vergilius Maro (70–19 BC), Roman poet.
Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Virgin Islands comprise the British Virgin Islands (capital Road Town) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (capital Charlotte Amalie).
virtuoso, pl. virtuosi or virtuosos.
vis-à-vis. (Fr.) “Face-to-face” with regard to.
Visconti, Count Luchino. (1907–1976) Italian stage and film direc
tor.
viscous. Sticky.
Vishnu. A Hindu god.
visitable.
vis major. (Lat.) “Greater force” pl. vires majores.
visor. Sun shield.
VISTA, Volunteers in Service to America, is now AmeriCorps VISTA.
vita brevis, ars longa. (Lat.) “Life is short, art is long.”
vitiate. Contaminate, ruin.
Viti Levu. Main island of Fiji, site of Suva, the capital.
vitreous, vitriform. The first describes something made of or having the quality of glass. The second means to have the appearance of glass.
vituperate, vituperative.
vivacious, vivacity.
Vivat regina! (Lat.) “Long live the queen.”
Vivat rex! (Lat.) “Long live the king.”
viva voce. An oral examination.
vivify. To bring to life.
viz., the abbreviation of videlicet (Lat.), means “namely” or “that is to say.”
Vizcaíno, Sebastián. (c. 1550–1615) Spanish explorer.
V-J Day. August 15, 1945, the date of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Vlaanderen. Flemish for Flanders.
Vladivostok, Russia.
Vlaminck, Maurice de. (1876–1958) French artist and writer.
Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
vocal cords. Not chords. Vocal cords are so called because of their shape and structure, not because of their tonal qualities.
vociferous. Outspoken.
Vodafone. A telecommunications company.
voilà.
Volapük. Artificial language that once rivaled Esperanto in popularity.
volatile.
vol-au-vent. Puff pastry filled with savory foodstuffs and sauce.
volcano, pl. volcanoes.
volcanology, vulcanology. Both are the terms for the science of volcanoes. The first is the preferred American spelling, the second the preferred British one.
Volcker, Paul. (1927–) American banking executive and government official, chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979–1987).
Volgograd. Russian city; formerly Stalingrad and before that Tsaritsyn.
Volkswagen. German car company; formally Volkswagenwerk AG.
Volstead Act. Act passed in 1919 to enforce Prohibition.
Völsunga Saga. Scandinavian epic.
Voltaire. (1694–1778) Pen name of François-Marie Arouet, French writer; Voltairean is the somewhat awkward adjectival form of the name.
volte-face. (Hyphen.) A complete change or reversal, especially an unexpected one.
voluptuous.