Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) (31 page)
Montaigne, Michel (Eyquem) de.
(1533â1592) French philosopher and essayist.
Mont Blanc.
Alpine mountain. But
Montblanc
for the pen.
Montenegro, Republic of.
Formerly part of Yugoslavia; capital Podgorica.
Monterey
for the city and bay in California and towns in Indiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Virginia, but
Monterrey
for the city in Mexico and town in Colorado.
Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de.
(1689â1755) French philosopher and jurist.
Montessori.
System of teaching developed by
Maria Montessori
(1870â1952), Italian doctor and educator.
Monteverdi, Claudio Giovanni Antonio.
(1567â1643) Italian composer.
Montevideo.
Capital of Uruguay.
Montparnasse,
Paris.
Montpelier
for the capital of Vermont, but
Montpellier,
France.
Mont-Saint-Michel,
France (hyphens).
Montserrat,
Leeward Islands, but
Monserrat,
Spain.
moose.
Pl. same.
More, Sir Thomas
(also
St. Thomas
). (1478â1535) English statesman and author.
morganatic marriage.
One between a noble and a commoner in which the commoner and his or her descendants enjoy no privileges of inheritance.
Morgan le Fay.
Sister of King Arthur.
Morgenthau, Henry, Jr.
(1891â1967) American statesman, secretary of the treasury (1934â1945).
moribund
does not mean sluggish or declining; it means dying, on the point of death. To be
moribund
is to be critically, indeed irreversibly, ill.
Morison, Samuel Eliot.
(1887â1976) American historian.
Mormon Church.
Officially the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Morocco, Morrocan.
Morris, Gouverneur.
(1752â1816) American statesman, signatory of U.S. Constitution.
Morrison, Toni.
(1931â) American novelist, awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
mortar,
in the context of weaponry, is the launching device, not the explosive projectiles. It is generally better, and sometimes necessary, to write that troops fired mortar rounds (or bombs or shells, etc.) rather than simply that they fired mortars.
Morte d'Arthur, Le.
Not
La
. Fifteenth-century prose narrative by Thomas Malory relating the legend of King Arthur.
mortise lock.
Moselle
for the river and wine; in German, Mosel.
Moser-Pröll, Annemarie.
(1953â) Austrian skier.
Moskva.
Russian for Moscow.
Moslem
is an accepted variant, but
Muslim
is generally preferred.
mosquitoes.
Mossad.
Israeli secret service.
most.
Unless you are striving for an air of folksiness,
most
as an adverb should be confined to signifying the topmost degree (“the most delicious cake”) or as a synonym for
very
(“Your offer is most welcome”). As an alternative for
almost
or
nearly
(“He would eat most anything”) it is generally not welcome in serious writing.
Mother's Day.
mot juste.
(Fr.) The right word.
motto,
pl.
mottoes.
mountebank.
A charlatan.
Mourning Becomes Electra.
Play by Eugene O'Neill (1931).
moussaka.
mousy
(pref.),
mousey
(alt.).
Mozambique,
but
Mozambican.
mozzarella.
Mpumalanga.
South African province, formerly Eastern Transvaal.
MRSA.
Short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a type of bacterial infection.
MS
is the abbreviation for
manuscript;
pl.
MSS
(capitalized but without periods).
MT
is the postal abbreviation of Montana; the traditional abbreviation is
Mont.,
with period.
Mubarak, (Muhammad) Hosni (Said).
(1928â) Egyptian president (1981â).
mucous, mucus, mucosa.
The first is the adjectival form, the second the noun form. Thus,
mucus
is the substance secreted by the
mucous
membranes. A more formal name for the latter is
mucosa
.
Mueller, Lisel.
(1924â) German-born American poet.
Muenster/Munster.
Either is correct for the cheese from Alsace. See also
MUNSTER, M
NSTER
.
muezzin.
In Islam, an official who calls the faithful to prayer.
mufti.
Plain clothes worn by a person who usually wears a uniform.
Muhammad
(or
Mohammed
). (c. 570â632) Founder of Islam.
Mühlhausen,
Germany.
mujahideen
is the most common spelling in English for Islamic guerrilla fighters, but there are many alternative spellings, including
mujahidin, mujahedin,
and
mujahedeen.
Mukhabarat.
Iraqi secret police.
mukluk, muktuk.
The first is a kind of boot; the second is whale blubber as food.
mulatto,
pl.
mulattos.
mullah.
Muslim teacher.
mulligatawny soup.
Mumbai.
Indian city formerly known as Bombay.
Munch, Edvard.
(1863â1944) Norwegian artist.
Munster, Münster.
The first is a province of Ireland comprising six countries: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford. The second is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Murchison River,
Australia;
Murchison Falls,
Uganda.
Murfreesboro, battle of.
(1863) U.S. Civil War; sometimes called the battle of Stones River.
murmur.
Murphy's Law.
If anything can go wrong, it will.
Muscovite
for a person from Moscow. The name comes from the ancient principality of Muscovy.
Muses.
The nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne who presided over the arts: Calliope (eloquence and epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (elegiac poetry), Euterpe (music), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (lyric poetry), Terpsichore (dancing), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).
Musharraf, Pervez.
(1943â) President of Pakistan (1999â).
“Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast”
is the correct quotation from the Congreve play
The Mourning Bride
. Not “
the
savage breast” or “a savage
beast
.”
musk-ox
(hyphen), but
muskmelon, muskrat, muskroot.
Muslim
(pref.),
Moslem
(alt.).
Mussolini, Benito.
(1883â1945) Italian prime minister (1922â1943) and dictator.
Mussorgsky/Moussorgsky, Modest Petrovich.
(1839â1881) Russian composer.
mustache.
mutatis mutandis.
(Lat.) “With the necessary changes.”
mutual, common.
Many authorities continue to insist, with varying degrees of conviction, that
mutual
should be reserved for describing reciprocal relationships between two or more things and not loosely applied to those things held in common. Thus, if you and I like each other, we have a mutual friendship. But if you and I both like Shakespeare, we have a common admiration. The use of
mutual
in the sense of
common
has been with us since the sixteenth century and was given a notable boost in the nineteenth with the appearance of the Dickens novel
Our Mutual Friend
. Most authorities accept it when
common
might be interpreted as a denigration, but even so in its looser sense the word is generally better avoided. It is, at all events, more often than not superfluous, as here: “They hope to arrange a mutual exchange of prisoners” (
Daily Telegraph
). An exchange of anything can hardly be other than mutual.
muumuu.
Loose-fitting Hawaiian dress.
Muzak.
(Cap.)
MW.
Megawatt.
mW.
Milliwatt.
myalgic encephalomyelitis.
(Abbr. ME.) A type of chronic malaise.
Myanmar, Burma.
Burma
is the former official name of the Southeast Asian nation and the one preferred by most publications and other informed users outside Burma.
Myanmar
was for a time used by many publications, but now its use is mostly confined to the country's government and institutions under its influence. Some authorities write “Burma/Myanmar.” The United Nations uses just Myanmar.
Mycenae.
Ancient Greek city and civilization; things from or of there are Mycenaean.
My Lai,
Vietnam; site of notorious massacre of villagers by U.S. troops (1968).
myrrh.
myself.
Except when it is used for emphasis (“I'll do it myself”) or reflexively (“I cut myself while shaving”)
myself
is almost always timorous and better avoided. In the following two examples, the better word is inserted in brackets: “Give it to John or myself [me]” “My wife and myself [I] would just like to say⦔
myxomatosis.
Viral disease in rabbits.
Nn
NAACP.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Nacogdoches,
Texas.
NAFTA.
North American Free Trade Agreement, a 1994 trade pact signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian-dominated enclave in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.
Nags Head,
North Carolina.
Nagurski, Bronko.
(1908â1990) Canadian-born American football player; real name Bronislau Nagurski.
Naipaul, V.S.
(for
Vidiadhar Surajprasad
) (1932â) Trinidad-born British writer; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.
naïve, naïvety.
namable.
That which can be named.
namby-pamby.
Namen
(Flemish)/
Namur
(French). Belgian city.
nano-.
Prefix meaning one-billionth.
naphtha.
Note
naph-tha,
not
nap-tha-.
Napoleon I.
(1769â1821) born Napoleon Bonaparte; emperor of the French (1804â1815).
narcissism.
narcissus.
Bulbous flowering plant of the lily family; pl.
narcisssuses/narcissi.
Narragansett Bay,
Rhode Island.
NASA.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
nasal.
Nascar.
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
NASDAQ.
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations; stock market specializing in technology stocks.
Nash
(or
Nashe
),
Thomas.
(1567â1601) English dramatist.
National Governors' Association.
(Apos.)
National Institutes of Health,
Bethesda, Maryland. Note
Institutes
plural. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NATO.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As of 2007, the member countries were Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Natty Bumppo.
Main character in James Fenimore Cooper's
Leather-stocking Tales
.
Naugahyde
is a trademark.
naught, nought.
Although dictionaries increasingly treat the words as interchangeable, traditionally the first means
nothing
(as in “His efforts came to naught”), while the second is used to signify the figure zero. The game is
noughts and crosses
(known in the United States as tic-tac-toe).
nauseous
is an adjective describing something that causes nausea (“a nauseous substance”). To feel sick is to be
nauseated.
Navajo/Navaho.
The first is generally preferred, the second accepted.
naval, navel.
The first pertains to a navy and its possessions or operations; the second to belly buttons and like-shaped objects. The oranges are navel.
navigable.
Nazism.
Not
-ii-.
n.b.
(or
NB
). Abbreviation of
nota bene
(Lat.), “note carefully.” Note that n.b. is spelled with periods and NB without.
NCAA.
National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Ndeti, Cosmas.
(1971â) Kenyan distance runner.
Ndjamena
(or
N'Djamena
). Capital of Chad.
'Ndrangheta.
Organized crime group in Calabria, Italy.
Neandertal
increasingly is the preferred spelling for the extinct species of human, though the formal scientific rendering
Homo neanderthalensis
still generally keeps the
-thal
spelling.
Neanderthal man
as a term for the species is both sexist and old-fashioned.
near disaster.
“His quick thinking saved an RAF jet pilot from a near disaster.” Not quite. The pilot was saved from a disaster. A near disaster is what he had.
neat's-foot oil.
A substance used to treat leather.
Nebuchadnezzar.
(c. 625â551
BC
) King of Babylon (605â561
BC
).
nebuchadnezzar,
an exceptionally large bottle of champagne, twenty times the size of a normal bottle.
nebula.
The plural can be either
nebulae
or
nebulas
.
necessarily, necessity.
needless to say
is a harmless enough expression, but it often draws attention to the fact that you really didn't need to say it.
nefarious.
negligee.
negligible.
Negretti & Zambra.
Maker of musical instruments.
Nehemiah.
Jewish leader in fifth century
BC
after whom an Old Testament book is named.
Nehru, Jawaharlal.
(1889â1964) Indian prime minister (1947â1964).
Neiman Marcus,
the department store group, no longer hyphenates its name.
neither.
In
neitherâ¦nor
constructions, the verb should always agree with the noun nearest it. Thus, “Neither De Niro nor his agent was available for comment.” When the noun nearest the verb is plural, the verb should also be plural: “Neither the president nor his advisers were available for comment.” When
neither
is used on its own without the
nor
, the verb should always be singular: “Neither of the men was ready” “Neither of us is hungry.” In short, more often than not a singular verb is called forâbut that singularity is by no means invariable. Try to remember that
neither
emphasizes the separateness of items. It doesn't add them together, at least not grammatically.
nemesis.
A nemesis (from Nemesis, the Greek goddess of vengeance) is not merely a rival or traditional enemy, but one who exacts retributive justice or is utterly unvanquishable.
neodymium.
A chemical element.
neologism.
A newly coined word.
nephritis.
Inflammation of the kidneys.
Nephthys.
Egyptian goddess, companion of the dead.
ne plus ultra.
(Lat.) Perfection, the acme.
Neptune.
Roman god of the sea, identified with the Greek god Poseidon, and the eighth planet from the sun.
nerve-racking.
Not
-wracking
. See
RACK, WRACK
.
n'est-ce pas?
(Fr.) “Is that not so?” pronounced
ness-pah.
Netanyahu, Benjamin.
(1949â) Israeli politician, prime minister (1996â1999).
Netherlands, the.
The capital is Amsterdam, but the seat of government is The Hague. (As with all place names,
the
is not capitalized with the country name, but is with the city name.)
netsuke.
Japanese carved ornament.
Nettles, Graig.
(1944â) American baseball player.
Netzahualcóyotl.
Part of the Mexico City conurbation.
Neuchâtel.
Swiss town and wine.
Neufchâtel.
French town and cheese.
Neugebauer, Randy.
(1949â) U.S. representative from Texas.
Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Suburb of Paris.
neurasthenia.
Chronic lethargy.
Neuwirth, Bebe.
(1958â) American actress.
nevertheless.
(One word.)
Newberry Library,
Chicago.
Newbery Airport,
Buenos Aires; officially Aeroparque Jorge Newbery.
Newbery Medal.
Formally the
John Newbery Medal
; award for outstanding children's literature.
New England.
Although it has no official standing, it comprises six states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
New Hebrides.
Former name of Vanuatu.
New Year's Day, New Year's Eve.
New York City
comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a state county (in parens.): the Bronx (Bronx County), Brooklyn (Kings County), Manhattan (New York County), Queens (Queens County), and Staten Island (Richmond County).
Niagara Falls.
Niamey.
Capital of Niger.
Nibelungenlied.
German epic poem written in the early thirteenth century.
niblick.
Golf club used for getting the ball out of bad lies.
niceish
is the spelling for something that is rather nice.
nickel.
Not
-le.
Nicklaus, Jack.
(1940â) American golfer.
Nicosia,
Cyprus; to the Greeks it is Levkosia.
nicotine.
Nielsen ratings.
The company is ACNielsen (one word).
Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm.
(1884â1900) German philosopher; the adjective is
Nietzschean.
Nightingale, Florence.
(1820â1910) English nurse and hospital reformer.
Niigata,
Honshu, Japan. Note
-ii-.
Niihau.
Hawaiian island. Note
-ii-.
Nijinsky, Vaslav.
(1890â1950) Russian dancer and choreographer.
Nijmegen,
Netherlands.
Nikkei 225 Index.
Principal Japanese stock market index;
Nikkei
is derived from
Nihon Keizai Shimbun
, a business newspaper.
Niña, Pinta,
and
Santa MarÃa.
The ships in Columbus's fleet during the 1492 crossing of the Atlantic.
nincompoop.
Not
nim-.
Nisei.
Literally “second generation.” Term used in North America for native U.S. or Canadian citizens born to immigrant Japanese parents; often loosely used to describe all Japanese expatriates, particularly in the context of World War II internment.
nitty-gritty.
(Hyphen.)
nitwit.
Nixon, Richard Milhous.
(1913â1994) Not
-house
. U.S. president (1969â1974).
Nizhny Novgorod,
Russia; called Gorky during Communist era.
Nobel Prizes
are awarded in six categories: Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Economicsâthough the last named is not strictly a Nobel Prize (its formal title is the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences). Nobel Prizes are named for the Swedish inventor and industrialist
Alfred Nobel
(1833â1896).
noblesse oblige.
(Fr.) “Nobility obligates” applied to duties that come with rank.
nobody
(one word), but
no one
(two words).
noisome
has nothing to do with noise or noisiness. It is related to
annoy
and means offensive or objectionable and is most often used to describe unpleasant smells.
nolo contendere.
(Lat.) “I do not wish to contend” tantamount to a plea of guilty, but leaves the defendant with the option of denying the same or similar charges in other proceedings.
nom de guerre.
(Fr.) An assumed name; in most contexts it is a cliché.
nom de plume.
A writer's pseudonym.
nomenklatura.
Secret list of names from which people in the USSR were chosen for advancement.
nonagenarian.
Person from ninety to ninety-nine years old.
non-Christian,
but
unchristian.
non compos mentis.
(Lat.) “Not of sound mind.”
none.
Although
none
can always take a singular verb, there is no rule recognized by any authority on English grammar that it cannot equally well take a plural one.
nonetheless.
(One word.)
non sequitur.
(Lat.) “It does not follow” the combination of two or more statements that are jarringly unrelated, as in “He was born in Omaha and his shoes were brown.”
no one
(two words), but
nobody
(one word).
Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
Region of France.
Nor'easter
is a strong or stormy wind from the northeast.
Norge.
The Norwegian name for Norway.
