100 Words Almost Everyone Mixes Up or Mangles - by Editors of the American Heritage Di (Paperback)

About the Book

"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, and most entries have etymologies. But the meat of the book is presented in the notes that describe the mix-ups and messes and provide the tidy solutions that will allay readers' anxieties. This newly jacketed book also features updates to definitions, etymologies, and quotations based off changes made to the American Heritage Dictionary since its initial publication in 2010. No doubt this is the book people have been looking for; a book with real cache (cachet?), a book that readers will pour (pore?) over, a book that is both masterful (masterly?) and laudable (laudatory?)"--

Book Synopsis

A book with real cache . . . or is it cachet

100 Words Almost Everyone Mixes Up or Mangles presents words that people can't keep straight, no matter how hard they try. It features helpful notes that provide guidance on tricky usage issues: the confusion between lend and loan, between plurality and majority, whether free rein is spelled "rein" or "reign." Each entry has a full definition and etymology, and most are accompanied by quotations from classic and contemporary authors that show how the words are used in context. With updates to some of the definitions and etymologies based on revisions made to the American Heritage Dictionary, a refreshed and diversified quotation program, and a brand-new cover design to match the updated series look, there's no doubt this is the book people have been looking for; a book that readers will pour (pore?) over, a book that is both masterful (masterly?) and laudable (laudatory?).

About the Author

The EDITORS OF THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARIES are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise.