Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) (38 page)

rickettsia.
Microorganism that can transmit various diseases to humans.

RICO.
Common abbreviation for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, law designed to attack organized crime.

ricochet, ricocheted, ricocheting.

RICS
stands for Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, London.

Riefenstahl, Leni.
(1902–2003) German actress and film director.

Riesling.
(Cap.) German white wine.

Rievaulx Abbey,
North Yorkshire, England; pronounced
ree-vo
.

riffraff.

Rigoletto.
Opera by Verdi (1851).

rigor mortis.

Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Rikers Island,
New York. (No apos.)

Riksdag.
Swedish parliament.

Riley, the life of.

Rilke, Rainer Maria.
(1875–1926) Austrian poet.

“Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The.”
Not
Rhyme
. Poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai
(or
Nicholas
). (1844–1908) Russian composer.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.

Rio Grande.
Not
Rio Grande River
.

Rio Tinto-Zinc.
British mining company. Note position of hyphen.

“Rip Van Winkle.”
Story by Washington Irving (1819).

risotto.
Italian rice dish.

rissole.
Deep-fried mincemeat or fish in the form of a ball or patty.

Rive Gauche.
(Fr.) The Left Bank, most commonly used of the Seine in Paris.

Riyadh.
Capital of Saudi Arabia; in Arabic, Ar Riyad.

RNA.
Ribonucleic acid.

Roanoke,
Virginia.

Robbins, Jerome.
(1918–1998) American choreographer; born Jerome Rabinowitz.

Robespierre, Maximilien François Marie Isidore de.
(1758–1794) French revolutionary.

Robins, A. H.
U.S. pharmaceuticals company.

Rochefoucauld, François, Duc de La.
(1613–1680) French writer known for his maxims.

Rockefeller, John D(avison).
(1839–1937) American business tycoon. Note middle name was
Davison,
not
Davidson
.

rock 'n' roll.

Rockville Centre,
New York. Not
Center
.

rococo.

Rodgers, Jimmie.
(1897–1933) U.S. country music singer.

Rodgers, Richard.
(1902–1979) American composer, collaborated often with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Rodin, Auguste.
(1840–1917) French sculptor.

Roebling, John Augustus.
(1806–1869) American engineer, designer of Brooklyn Bridge.

Roedean School,
Brighton, England.

Roederer, Louis,
champagne.

Roeg, Nicolas.
(1928–) British film director. Note unusual spelling of first name.

Rogers Centre.
Not
-er.
Toronto sporting arena; formerly SkyDome.

Rogers, Ginger.
(1911–1995) Actress and dancer; real name Virginia Katherine McMath.

Rogers, Richard.
(Baron Rogers of Riverside) (1933–) British architect.

Rohrabacher, Dana.
(1947–) Republican U.S. representative from California.

Roissy.
Informal name of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris.

Rolls-Royce.
(Hyphen.)

roly-poly.

ROM.
Read-only memory, a type of computer memory.

roman-à-clef.
(Fr.) A novel about real people but using fictitious names; pl.
romans-à-clef.

roman-fleuve.
(Fr.) A long novel, or series of novels, chronicling several generations of a family; pl.
romans-fleuves.

Romania.
Not
Ru-.

Roman numerals.
See Appendix.

Romanov.
Dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613–1917.

Romansch/Romansh.
Language spoken in parts of Switzerland.

Romberg, Sigmund.
(1887–1951) Hungarian-born American composer of operettas.

Rommel, Erwin.
(1891–1944) German field marshal, commander of the Afrika Korps in World War II.

Roppongi.
Nightclub district of Tokyo.

Roquefort.
A French cheese, from the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

Rorschach test.
Psychological test involving ink blots devised by Swiss pyschiatrist and neurologist Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922).

Roseau.
Capital of Dominica.

Rosebery, Lord.
(1847–1929) Not
-berry.
British prime minister (1894–1895). His full name was Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of Rosebery.

Rosenberg, Julius
(1918–1953) and
Ethel
(1915–1953). Americans executed as Russian spies.

Rosenborg Castle,
Copenhagen, Denmark.

Rosenkavalier, Der.
Opera by Richard Strauss (1911).

Rosetta stone.

Rosh Hashanah
(or
Hashana, Hoshana, Hoshanah
). Jewish New Year, usually late September or early October.

Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana.
(1952–) Republican U.S. representative from Florida.

Rosmersholm.
Play by Henrik Ibsen (1886).

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel.
(1828–1882) English poet and painter, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; brother of
Christina Rossetti
(1830–1894), poet.

Rossini, Gioacchino Antonio.
(1792–1868) Italian composer.

Rostand, Edmond.
(1868–1918) Not
-mund.
French playwright and poet.

Rostenkowski, Dan.
(1928–) American politician.

Rostropovich, Mstislav.
(1927–2007) Russian cellist.

rosy.
Not
rosey
.

Rothko, Mark.
(1903–1970) Russian-born American painter.

Rothschilds,
a family of European financiers. Among the more distinguished members are
Nathaniel Mayer Victor, Baron Rothschild
(1910–1990), English scientist and public servant;
Edmund Leopold de Rothschild
(1916–2007), British banker; and
Baron Élie Robert de Rothschild
(1917–).

rottweiler
for the breed of dog. Note two
t
's, one
l.

Rouault, Georges Henri.
(1871–1958) French expressionist painter.

Roubiliac, Louis François.
(1695–1762) French sculptor.

Rousseau, Henri.
(1844–1910) French painter. Nicknamed “Douanier,” French for “customs clerk.”

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.
(1712–1778) Swiss-born French political theorist.

Rowlandson, Thomas.
(1756–1827) English caricaturist.

Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the.
Formal name of the famous golf course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group.
Anglo-Dutch oil company.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,
London; not
Institute
.

Royal Welch Fusiliers, Royal Welch Regiment.
Not
Welsh
. British military regiments.

Royal, Ségolène.
(1953–) French Socialist politician.

RSVP.
Répondez, s'il vous plaît
(Fr.), “please reply.” The term is not used in France.

RTE.
Radio Telefís Éireann, Irish broadcasting corporation.

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, The.
Persian verses.

rubella, rubeola.
Both are names for measles.

Rubens, Peter Paul.
(1577–1640) Flemish painter.

Rubinstein, Artur.
(1886–1982) Polish-born American pianist.

ruble.
Russian unit of currency.

Rüdesheimer.
German wine.

Rukeyser, Louis.
(1933–2006) American economic commentator.

“Rule, Britannia.”
Note comma. British patriotic song.

rumba.
A lively dance of Cuban origin.

rumbustious.

Rumpelstiltskin.

Runnymede.
Meadow in Surrey, England, where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215.

Ruppersberger, Dutch.
(1946–) U.S. representative from Maryland; real name Charles Albert Ruppersberger III.

Ruritania.
Fictional country in
The Prisoner of Zenda
, a novel by Anthony Hope (1894); and by extension a romantic, unreal country.

Ruy Lopez.
A type of opening move in chess.

Ruysdael/Ruïsdael, Jacob van.
(1628–1682) Dutch artist; pronounced
royz-dale.

Ruzyne Airport,
Prague.

Rwanda.
Central African republic; capital Kigali.

Ryukyu Islands,
Japan.

Ryun, Jim.
(1947–) American distance runner and Republican politician.

Ss

Saarbrücken,
Germany.

Saarinen, Eero.
(1910–1961) Finnish-born American architect, and son of
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen
(1873–1950), also a noted architect.

Saarland.
German state.

sabotage, saboteur.

saccharin, saccharine.
The first is an artificial sweetener; the second means sugary.

Sackville-West, Vita.
(1892–1962) English writer.

sacrilegious.
Sometimes misspelled
sacreligious
on the mistaken assumption that
religious
is part of the word. It isn't.

Saddam Hussein.
(1937–2006) President of Iraq (1979–2003). His name in full was Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikrit.

Sadler's Wells.
London theater.

safflower.

Sagittarius.
A sign of the Zodiac.

sago,
pl.
sagos.

Sahara
means desert, so the common expression “Sahara Desert” is redundant.

Saigon.
Former name of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine (Marie Roger) de.
(1900–1944) French aviator and author.

sake.
Japanese rice wine.

Sakharov, Andrei.
(1921–1989) Russian physicist and dissident; awarded Nobel Peace Prize (1975).

Saki.
Pen name of H. H. Munro (1870–1916), English writer.

salable.
Something that can be sold.

Sallie Mae.
Nickname for Student Loan Marketing Board.

salmonella.
Poisonous bacteria, named for its discoverer, American Dr. D. J. Salmon (1850–1914).

Salonika,
Greece; not Thessaloniki.

salsify.
Edible root; pl.
salsifies.

SALT.
Strategic arms limitation talks. The expression “SALT talks,” though redundant, is sometimes unavoidable.

saluki.
Breed of dog.

salutary.
Not
-tory.
For a discussion of its usage, see
HEALTHY
,
HEALTHFUL
,
SALUTARY
.

Salvadoran.
Not
-ean,
for a person or thing from El Salvador.

salvos/salvoes.

Sam Browne,
not
Brown
, for the type of belt worn diagonally across the chest.

samizdat.
Underground publication of banned texts in the former Soviet Union.

Samson.
Not
Sampson
. Legendary figure of great strength.

samurai
(sing. and pl.).

Sanaa
(or
Sana'a
). Capital of Yemen.

sanatorium,
pl.
sanatoriums/sanatoria.

Sánchez-Vicario, Arantxa.
(1971–) Spanish tennis player.

sanctimonious.

Sand, George.
Pen name of Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant (1804–1876), French writer.

sandal
for the type of shoe. Not
sandle
.

sandalwood.

Sandburg, Carl.
(1878–1967) American poet.

Sanders, Deion.
(1967–) American football and baseball player.

Sandinistas/Sandinists.
Revolutionary party in Nicaragua; named after General Augusto César Sandino (1895–1934), a Nicaraguan revolutionary.

sangfroid.
Unflappability.

Sangre de Cristo Mountains,
Colorado and New Mexico.

sangria.
Spanish drink.

sanitary.
Not
-tory.

San Joaquin Valley,
California.

San Luis Obispo,
California; not
Louis
.

San Salvador.
Capital of El Salvador.

sansculotte.
(In French,
sans-culotte
.) “Without breeches” an extreme revolutionary or republican. French revolutionaries were so called because they wore pantaloons rather than breeches.

sans serif.
A typeface without serifs.

Santa Ana.
Wind; it is also the name of a town in California.

Santa Isabel.
Former name of Malabo, capital of Equitorial Guinea.

Santayana, George.
(1863–1952) Spanish-born American poet, novelist, and philosopher.

Santo Domingo.
Formerly Ciudad Trujillo; capital of the Dominican Republic.

Saône.
French river.

São Paulo.
Largest city in Brazil.

São Tomé and Príncipe.
West African republic; capital São Tomé. Natives are known as São Toméans.

sapphire.
Note
-pp-.
Precious stone.

Sappho.
(c. 620
BC
–c. 565
BC
) Greek poetess.

Sara Lee,
not
Sarah
, for the U.S. food company.

sarcoma.
A malignant tumor in connective tissue, bone, or muscle; pl.
sarcomas/sarcomata.

sarcophagus.
Stone coffin; pl.
sarcophagi.

Sardegna.
Italian for Sardinia.

Sargasso Sea.
Area of Atlantic Ocean where masses of floating seaweed are found.

Sargent, John Singer.
(1856–1925) American painter.

Sarkozy, Nicolas.
(1955–) French politician, president of France (2007–).

SARS.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a viral disorder.

sarsaparilla.

Sartre, Jean-Paul.
(1905–1980) French philosopher, dramatist, and novelist.

SAS.
Scandinavian Airlines System.

Saskatchewan.
Canadian river and province.

Saskatoon.
City in Saskatchewan.

sasquatch.
North American abominable snowman.

sassafras.
North American tree, source of flavoring.

Sassoon, Siegfried (Lorraine).
(1886–1967) British poet.

satellite.

saucisse.
(Fr.) Pork sausage.

saucy.
Not
-ey.

sauerbraten.

sauerkraut.

Saugatuck.
River in Connecticut and town in Michigan.

Sauk Centre,
Minnesota; birthplace of Sinclair Lewis. Note irregular spelling of
Centre.

Sault Sainte Marie.
Towns in Michigan and Ontario, and canal linking Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

Sausalito,
California.

Sauternes.
A sweet French wine and the village in Gironde from which it comes. The name of the wine is sometimes lowercased and, in the United States, spelled
sauterne.

sauve qui peut.
(Fr.) Literally “save who can.” To flee wildly; every man for himself.

savanna
(or
savannah
). Tropical and subtropical grassland.

Savannah,
Georgia, but
Savana Island,
U.S. Virgin Islands, and
Savanna
for towns in Illinois and Oklahoma. The river is also
Savannah.

Savile Row.
Not
-ll-.
Sartorially famous street, London.

savoir-faire, savoir-vivre.
Both are French, of course. The first indicates social grace; the second, good breeding.

Savonarola, Girolamo.
(1452–1498) Italian religious and political reformer.

Saxony-Anhalt.
German state; in German, Sachsen-Anhalt.

saxophone.
Musical instrument invented by Adolphe Sax (1814–1894), a Belgian.

Scafell Pike.
The highest hill in England at 3,206 feet. There is a separate neighboring eminence called Sca Fell (two words).

Scala, La.
Opera house in Milan. Formally, Teatro alla Scala.

scalawag.
A rascal.

scalene triangle.
One with no equal sides.

scaloppine.
Italian dish.

Scandinavia.
Not
Scanda-.

Scapigliatura, La.
Nineteenth-century Italian literary movement. Literally, “the dishevelled ones.”

scarce, scarcely.

scared, scarred.
The first means frightened; the second, disfigured.

Scarlatti, Alessandro
(1659–1725) and
Domenico
(1683–1757), father and son composers from Italy.

scarves, scarfs.
Either is correct for the plural of
scarf
.

scary.
Not
-ey.

schadenfreude.
(Ger.) Deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others; pronounced
shah-den-froy-duh
.

Schaffner, Franklin.
(1920–1989) American film director.

Schakowsky, Jan.
(1944–) Democratic U.S. representative from Illinois.

Scheherazade.
Fictional sultan's wife, narrator of
The Arabian Nights
; title of composition by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Schenectady,
New York; pronounced
skuh-nek'-tuh-dee
.

Scheuer, James H.
(1920–2005) New York congressman (1964–1992).

Scheveningen.
Suburb of The Hague, the Netherlands.

Schiaparelli, Elsa.
(1890–1973) Italian-born French fashion designer.

Schiller, (Johann Christoph) Friedrich von.
(1759–1805) German poet, playwright, and historian.

schilling.
Former Austrian unit of currency.

Schiphol Airport,
Amsterdam.

Schirra, Wally.
(1923–2007) American astronaut; formally he was Walter M. Schirra Jr.

schistosomiasis.
Parasitic disease of tropical regions; also known as bilharziasis.

Schleiermacher, Friedrich Daniel Ernst.
(1768–1834) German philosopher.

schlemiel.
(Yid.) A fool.

Schlesinger, Arthur M(eier).
(1888–1965) American historian, and father of
Arthur M(eier) Schlesinger Jr.
(1917–2007), American historian.

Schleswig-Holstein.
German state.

Schlieffen, Alfred, Count von.
(1833–1913) Prussian field marshal and military strategist.

Schliemann, Heinrich.
(1822–1890) German archaeologist who excavated Mycenae and Troy.

schmaltz.
Maudlin sentimentality.

Schmeling, Max.
(1905–2005) German heavyweight boxer.

Schnabel, Artur.
(1882–1951) Austrian-born American pianist.

Schnabel, Julian.
(1951–) American painter.

schnapps.
A strong alcoholic drink.

schnauzer.
Breed of dog.

schnitzel.
Veal cutlet.

Schnitzler, Arthur.
(1862–1931) Austrian playwright and novelist.

Schoenberg
(or
Schönberg
),
Arnold.
(1874–1951) Austrian composer.

Schoendienst, Red.
(1923–) American baseball player and manager; real name Albert.

Schollander, Don.
(1946–) American swimmer.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,
New York City.

Schönbrunn Palace,
Vienna, Austria.

Schopenhauer, Arthur.
(1788–1860) German philosopher.

Schröder, Gerhard.
(1944–) Chancellor of Germany (1998–2005).

Schubert, Franz.
(1797–1828) Austrian composer.

Schulberg, Budd.
(1914–) American screenwriter. Note unusual spelling of
Budd.

Schulz, Charles M.
(for Monroe). (1922–2000) American comic strip cartoonist, creator of
Peanuts.

Schuman, Robert.
(1886–1963) Luxembourg-born French statesman who devised the Schuman Plan, which led to the setting-up of the European Coal and Steel Community.

Schumann, Robert.
(1810–1856) German composer.

schuss.
Downhill run in skiing.

Schuylkill River.
Pennsylvania; pronounced
skoo'-kill.

schwa.
Not
schwah
, for the phonetic symbol
E
representing an indeterminate unstressed sound akin to “uh,” as with the second and fourth vowel sounds of
memorandum
(i.e.,
mem
-ran-d
m
).