What is the difference between cant and jargon, or assume and presume?What is a fandango? How do you spell supersede? Is it hippy or hippie?This title includes a selection of spellings and usages, covering suchhead-scratchers as capitalization, plurals, abbreviations and foreignnames and phrases. What is the difference between cant and jargon, or assume and presume?What is a fandango? How do you spell supersede? Is it hippy or hippie?These questions really matter to Bill Bryson, as they do to an..yone whocares about the English language. Originally published as "The PenguinDictionary for Writers and Editors", "Bryson's Dictionary for Writers andEditors" has now been completely revised and updated for the twenty-firstcentury by Bill Bryson himself. Here is a very personal selection ofspellings and usages, covering such head-scratchers as capitalization,plurals, abbreviations and foreign names and phrases. Bryson also gives usthe difference between British and American usages, and miscellaneouspieces of essential information you never knew you needed, like the namesof all the Oxford colleges, or the correct spelling of Brobdingnag. Anindispensable companion to all those who write, work with the writtenword, or who just enjoy getting things right, it gives rulings that areboth authoritative and commonsense,all in Bryson's own inimitablygoodhumoured way.