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

by Bill Bryson

  malleable.

  Mallorca. Spanish spelling of Majorca.

  malmsey. A sweet wine; pl. malmseys.

  malodorous.

  Malory, Sir Thomas. (d. 1471) Fifteenth-century English author and compiler of Arthurian legends (notably Le Morte d’Arthur). But George Mallory (two l’s) for the Everest explorer (1886–1924).

  Malvinas, Islas. Argentinian name for the Falkland Islands.

  Mamaroneck, New York.

  Mammon. (Cap.) Wealth regarded as an object of worship.

  manacle. Not -icle. Shackle.

  manageable, manageability.

  Manassas. Virginia town near the site of two battles in the Civil War, usually called the battle of Bull Run in the North and the battle of Manassas in the South.

  manatee. Sea cow.

  mandamus. Writ commanding that a particular thing be done or a public duty performed.

  mandatory, mandatary. The first means compulsory; the second is a much rarer word, which applied to holding a mandate.

  Mandlikova, Hana. (1962–) Czech tennis player.

  Manet, Édouard. (1832–1883) French artist.

  maneuver.

  mangoes/mangos. Either is correct.

  Manhattan, not -en, for the island borough at the heart of New York City; the cocktail is manhattan (lowercase).

  manifesto, pl. manifestos.

  Manila. Capital of the Philippines. The paper and envelopes, etc., are usually spelled lowercase:

  manila.

  Manitoulin Island, Lake Huron, Canada.

  mannequin, manikin. The words are broadly interchangeable, but the first is usually reserved for the types of dummies found in store windows and the second for anatomical models used for teaching. An alternative spelling of manikin is mannikin.

  manner born, to the. Not manor. The line is from Hamlet.

  mano a mano. (Sp.) “Hand to hand.”

  mantel, mantle. The first is the usual spelling for the frame around a fireplace; the second for all other senses. Note also the spellings of the associated words mantelshelf and mantelpiece.

  Mao Zedong (formerly Mao Tse-tung). (1893–1976) Founder and chairman of the People’s Republic of China (1949–1959), and chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (1935–1976).

  Mapplethorpe, Robert. (1947–1989) American photographer.

  Maputo. Formerly Lourenço Marques; capital of Mozambique.

  Maquis. French resistance during World War II.

  Maracaibo. City and lake in Venezuela.

  maraschino cherry.

  March, Fredric. (1897–1975) Not Frederick. American actor; born Frederick McIntyre Bickel.

  marchioness. Wife or widow of a marquis, or a woman holding the title of marquess.

  Marciano, Rocky. (1923–1969) American boxer, world heavyweight champion (1952–1956); born Rocco Marchegiano.

  Marconi, Guglielmo. (1874–1937) Italian inventor of wireless telegraphy; awarded Nobel Prize for Physics (1909).

  margarine. Not -ger-.

  margarita. A cocktail.

  Margaux, Château. French wine.

  marginal is unobjectionable when used to describe something falling near a lower limit (“a marginal profit”). But it is a lame choice when all you mean is small or slight.

  Margrethe II. (1940–) Queen of Denmark (1972–).

  Marianas Trench. Site of greatest depth (36,220 feet; 11,040 meters) of the Pacific Ocean. The nearby island chain is called the Mariana (not-s) Islands or the Marianas.

  Marianske Lazne. Czech spa more widely known by its German name of Marienbad.

  Marie Antoinette. (1755–1793) Austrian-born queen of France (1774–1793) and wife of King Louis XVI.

  marionette.

  markka. Former unit of Finnish currency.

  Marlboro cigarettes.

  Marmara, Sea of.

  marmoset. Monkey.

  Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia.

  marquee. Large tent used for entertaining; in the United States it signifies a projection over an entrance, especially at the front of a theater.

  Marquesas Islands. Archipelago in South Pacific.

  Marrakesh, Morocco.

  Marriage-à-la-Mode. (Hyphens.) Play by John Dryden (1672).

  Marriott. Hotels group.

  Marsalis, Wynton. (1961–) U.S. musician.

  Marseille (or Marseilles), France. The French national anthem is “La Marseillaise..

  marshal. Not -all.

  Marshall Islands. Island nation in the Pacific Ocean; capital Majuro.

  Marshall Plan, officially the European Recovery Program, was an assistance program to help European nations rebuild after World War II. It was named for George C. Marshall (1880-1959), secretary of state.

  Marshalsea Prison, London.

  Martin Luther King Day is observed in the United States on the third Monday of January.

  Marunouchi. Financial district of Tokyo.

  Marylebone. Roads, district, and church in London.

  Mary, Queen of Scots. (1542–1587) Scottish queen, executed for treason. Some sources write her name without the comma.

  Masaccio. (1401–1428) Italian painter; real name Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Mone Cassai.

  Maserati. Italian sports car.

  Mason-Dixon line. Boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in 1763–1767, traditionally regarded as the dividing line between the North and the South in the United States.

  Massapequa, Massapequa Park, East Massapequa, etc., New York.

  masseur (masc.), masseuse (fem.).

  MasterCard.

  masterful, masterly. Most authorities continue to insist that we observe a distinction between these two—namely that masterly should apply to that which is adroit and expert and masterful to that which is imperious and domineering. Useful as the distinction might be, it has to be noted that no leading dictionary insists on it and most don’t even indicate that such a distinction exists.

  Matabeleland. Region of Zimbabwe.

  Matagordo Bay, Texas.

  Matamoros, Mexico, but Matamoras, Pennsylvania.

  materialize is usually no more than a somewhat pompous synonym for occur, develop, or happen.

  Mathewson, Christy. (1880–1925) American baseball pitcher.

  Mato Grosso, Brazil.

  Matthau, Walter. (1920–2000) American actor.

  matzo. Type of unleavened bread; pl. matzos (or matzoth or matzot).

  Maudsley Hospital, London. Not Maude-.

  Maundy Thursday. Not Maunday. The day before Good Friday.

  Maupassant, (Henri René Albert) Guy de. (1850–1893) French author.

  Mauretania, Mauritania. The first is the spelling for the ancient African country and two famous Cunard ships. The second is the spelling of the modern-day African country formally known as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

  mausoleum.

  mauvaise honte. (Fr.) Dishonest or needless shame.

  Mayne, Thom. (1944–) American architect.

  mayonnaise.

  Mazatlán, Mexico.

  mazel tov. (Heb.) “Good luck.”

  mazurka. Polish dance.

  Mazzini, Giuseppe. (1805–1872) Italian republican and revolutionary.

  Mbabane. Capital of Swaziland.

  Mbeki, Thabo (Mvuyelwa). (1942–) South African president (1999–).

  McAfee Coliseum, Oakland.

  McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas.

  McCarthy, Cormac. (1933–) American novelist.

  McCarthy, Eugene (Joseph). (1916–2005) American Democratic politician.

  McCarthy, Joseph (Raymond). (1900–1957) U.S. senator notorious for a prolonged campaign against Communists during congressional hearings, known as the Army-McCarthy hearings, in the 1950s.

  McClellan, George B(rinton). (1826–1865) American general and politician.

  McCormick, Cyrus. (1809–1884) American manufacturer and inventor.

  McCormick Place. Con
vention center in Chicago.

  McCowen, Alec. (1925–) British actor.

  McCrea, Joel. (1905–1990) American film actor.

  McCullers, Carson. (1917–1967) American novelist and playwright.

  McDonald’s (note apos.) for the fast-food chain. The company is the McDonald’s Corporation.

  McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Now part of Boeing.

  McDowall, Roddy. (1928–1998) British-born American actor.

  McEnroe, John. (1959–) American tennis player.

  McEwan, Geraldine. (1932–) British actress.

  McEwan, Ian. (1948–) British novelist.

  McGillis, Kelly. (1957–) American actress.

  McGill University, Montreal.

  McGoohan, Patrick. (1928–) American actor.

  McGovern, George. (1922–) American Democratic politician.

  McGraw-Hill Companies, The. U.S. media and financial services company.

  McGregor, Ewan. (1971–) Scottish actor.

  McGuffey Eclectic Reader (not McGuffey’s) is the formal name for the schoolbook popularly known as McGuffey’s Reader; named for the educator W. H. McGuffey (1800–1873).

  McGwire, Mark. (1963–) American baseball player.

  McIntosh apple (after the Canadian John McIntosh), but Macintosh computer.

  McJob. (Cap. M, cap. J.) Slang term for a low-wage job, usually in the service sector.

  McKinley, Mount. Alaskan mountain that is the highest peak in North America (20,320 feet; 6,194 meters), alternative name Denali. It stands within Denali National Park and Preserve. Mount McKinley was named for William McKinley (1843–1901), U.S. president (1897–1901).

  McLean, Virginia, suburb of Washington, D.C.; pronounced muklane'.

  McShane, Ian. (1942–) British actor.

  ME. Short for myalgic encephalomyelitis, a type of chronic malaise; also, postal abbreviation of Maine.

  mea culpa. (Lat.) “My fault.”

  mean, median. Each of these terms has a very specific meaning. The American Heritage Dictionary defines mean as a number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean, or the average value of a set of numbers. Median signifies the middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values. Both terms are at best vaguely understood by the general reader, and thus your most prudent course of action is to use them extremely sparingly in anything other than technical writing.

  measurable.

  Mecklenburg. Former state in Germany.

  Medal of Honor. Not Congressional Medal of Honor. Highest U.S. military decoration.

  Médecins Sans Frontières. Medical aid charity, known in the United States as Doctors Without Borders.

  Medellín, Colombia.

  media is a plural. The singular is medium. Television is a medium; newspapers and television are media. However, mediums is the correct plural for describing spiritualists.

  Medici. Leading family of Renaissance Florence, whose more noted members were Cosimo de’ Medici (1389–1464), called Cosimo the Elder; Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449–1492), called Lorenzo the Magnificent; Giovanni de’ Medici (1475–1521), later Pope Leo X; and Giulio de’ Medici (1478–1534), later Pope Clement VII. The French spelling is normally used for Catherine de Medicis (1519–1589), wife of Henry II of France, and Marie de Medicis (1573–1642), wife of Henry IV of France.

  medieval.

  mediocre.

  meerschaum. White claylike mineral traditionally used to make pipe bowls.

  meet, mete. In the sense of justice or punishment, the first means suitable, and the second means to allot. Thus one metes out punishment, but a fitting punishment is meet.

  mega. Prefix meaning one million. A megabyte in computing is a million bytes (or a thousand kilobytes).

  megahertz (one word, no cap.), but the abbreviation is MHz.

  megalomania.

  Meigs Field. Chicago airport; formally Merril (not -ll) C. Meigs Field. It closed in 2003.

  Meiji. Reign of Emperor Mutsuhito (1867–1912), marking Japan’s emergence as a modern industrial state.

  mein Herr, meine Dame. (Ger.) Sir, lady; pl. meine Herren, meine Damen.

  Meir, Golda. (1898–1978) Israeli prime minister (1969–1974).

  Meissen porcelain. Named for the German city in which it originated.

  meitnerium. Chemical element.

  melamine. A type of plastic. It is not capitalized.

  Melanchthon, Philipp (or Philip). (1497–1560) German academic; colleague of Martin Luther and a leader of the Reformation.

  melee. In French, mêlée.

  mellifluous. Sounding sweet.

  memento, pl. mementoes.

  memorabilia. Note that the word is a plural.

  memorandums.

  Memorial Day. Day commemorating the war dead, held the last Monday in May; originally called Decoration Day.

  ménage à trois. (Fr.) Sexual relationship among three people living together.

  menagerie.

  Mencken, H. L. (for Henry Louis). (1880–1956) American writer, critic, and editor.

  Mendel, Gregor Johann. (1822–1884) Austrian botanist whose work became the basis of modern genetics.

  Mendelssohn, Felix. (1809–1847) German composer; full name Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

  Mendes da Rocha, Paulo. (1928–) Brazilian architect.

  Mendès-France, Pierre. (1907–1982) French prime minister (1954–1955).

  meningitis. Inflammation of the meninges, or cranial membranes; note that meninges is plural; a single membrane is a meninx.

  Menninger Clinic, the. Psychiatric hospital founded in 1925, moved to Houston, Texas, in 2003; the Menninger Foundation remains in Topeka.

  menorah. Seven-branched candelabrum used in Jewish worship in ancient times; today’s Hanukkah menorah has nine branches.

  Menorca. Spanish name for Minorca.

  Menotti, Gian Carlo. (1911–2007) Italian-born American composer.

  men’s, women’s. However eagerly department stores and the like may strive to dispense with punctuation in their signs (writing “Mens Clothing” or “Womens Department”), the practice is subliterate and to be avoided in any serious writing. Equally incorrect, if slightly less common, is placing the apostrophe after the “s” (e.g., “mens’ hats,” “womens’ facials”). However, note that the apostrophe is discarded in such compounds as menswear and womenswear. See also CHILDREN’S.

  Menuhin, Yehudi. (1916–1999) American-born British violinist.

  meow. The sound that cats make; in Britain and elsewhere it is usually spelled miaow.

  Mephistophelean (or Mephistophelian). Evil; after Mephistopheles, the devil to whom Faust sold his soul.

  Mercalli scale. A measure of earthquake intensity; named for the Italian volcanologist Giuseppe Mercalli (1850–1914).

  Mercedes-Benz. (Hyphen.) The plural is Mercedeses, but is best avoided.

  meretricious. Vulgar, insincere.

  meringue. Confection made from egg whites and sugar.

  merino. Type of sheep; pl. merinos.

  meritocracy. System of government based on merit.

  Merkel, Angela. (1954–) German chancellor (2005–).

  Merrion Square, Dublin.

  mesmerize.

  Messaggero, Il. Italian newspaper.

  Messerschmitt, not -schmidt, for the type of aircraft.

  metal, mettle. Metal denotes chemical elements such as gold and copper; mettle is for contexts describing courage or spirit.

  metamorphose (verb), metamorphosis (noun), pl. metamorphoses.

  metaphor, simile. Both are figures of speech in which two things are compared. A simile likens one thing to another, dissimilar one: “He ran like the wind” “She took to racing as a duck takes to water.” A metaphor, on the other hand, acts as if the two compared things are identical and substitutes one for the other. Comparing the beginning of time to the beginning of a day, for instance, produces the metaphor “the dawn of time.”


  metathesis. The transposition of sounds or letters in a word or between words; the latter commonly are called spoonerisms.

  mete, meet. The first means to allot; the second means suitable. One metes out punishment, but a fitting punishment is meet.

  meteor, meteorite, meteoroid. Meteoroids are pieces of galactic debris floating through space. If they enter Earth’s atmosphere as shooting stars, they are meteors. If they survive the fall to Earth, they are meteorites.

  meter, but metric and metrical; one meter equals 39.37 inches.

  meticulous. Several usage books, though fewer and fewer dictionaries, insist that the word does not mean merely very careful, but rather excessively so. Unless you mean to convey a negative quality, it is usually better to use scrupulous, careful, painstaking, or some other synonym.

  metonymy. Figure of speech in which a thing is described in terms of one of its attributes, as in calling the monarch “the crown.”

  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Hollywood film studio, abbreviated MGM.

  metronome. Instrument for marking time.

  mettle. Courage or spirit.

  Meuse. River in northern Europe; in Dutch, Maas.

  mezzanine.

  Mezzogiorno. The southern, poorer half of Italy.

  mezzotint. Method of engraving, and the engraving so produced.

  MGM. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

  miaow. British spelling of meow.

  Michaelmas. Feast of St. Michael, September 29.

  Michelangelo. (1475–1564) Italian artist, architect, and engineer; full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni.

  micro. Prefix meaning one-millionth, or very small.

  Micronesia, Federated States of. Comprises Korsae, Ponape, Truk, and Yap; capital Kolonia.

  Middlesbrough. Not -borough. City in northern England.

  Mid Glamorgan. (Two words, no hyphen.) County in Wales.

  Midi-Pyrénées. Region of France.

  Midwest (one word), Middle West (two words).

  Mientkiewicz, Doug. (1974–) American baseball player.

  Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig. (1886–1969) German-born U.S. architect.

  mijnheer, mynheer. The first is the Dutch spelling, the second the English of the Dutch term for “sir.” Either should be capitalized when placed before a name.

  mileage.

  miles gloriosus. Latin for “glorious soldier.” A braggart, particularly a braggart soldier. Pronounced meel-us glor-ee-oh-sus.

  milieu. Environment.