From one of America's most beloved and bestselling authors, a wonderfully useful and readable guide to the problems of the English language most commonly encountered by editors and writers.
What is the difference between “immanent” and “imminent”? What is the singular form of graffiti? What is the difference between “acute” and “chronic”? What is the former name of “Moldova”? What is the...

A veritable 'TKO of terminology,' Better Than Great is the essential guide for describing the extraordinary-the must-have reference for anyone wishing to rise above tired superlatives. Deft praise encourages others to feel as we do, share our enthusiasms. It rewards deserving objects of admiration. It persuades people to take certain actions. It sells things. Sadly, in this 'age of awesome,' our words and phrases of acclaim are exhausted, all but...

A guide to more than 3,500 clichés explains the meanings of such phrases as "give the devil his due, " and "gild the lily, " and traces the history of these expressions.

"The most original and authoritative voice of today's English lexicography presents a fully revised new edition of his beloved usage dictionary. When Bryan Garner published the first edition of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage in 1999, the book quickly became one of the most influential style guides ever written for the English language. After four previous editions and over twenty years, our language has evolved in many ways, and the powerful...

"100 Words Almost Everyone Mixes Up or Mangles presents words that people can't keep straight, no matter how hard they try. It features notorious soundalikes, such as aural/oral, bawl out/ball out, errant/arrant, faze/phase, gibe/jibe, and waive/wave, as well as close calls and near misses like baleful/baneful, effectual/efficacious, mitigate/militate, and suppress/repress. As in the other 100 Words books, each entry has a definition and pronunciation,...