Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) by Bill Bryson Read Free Book Online Page B

Writing in which alternate lines go from right to left and left to right.
    boutonnière. Flower for buttonhole.
    Boutros-Ghali, Boutros. (1922–) Egyptian politician and civil servant; secretary-general of the United Nations (1992-96).
    Bouygues Group. French construction company.
    bouzouki. Greek stringed musical instrument.
    Bowes Lyon. (No hyphen.) Family name of the late British Queen Mother.
    boyfriend, girlfriend. (Each one word.)
    boysenberry.
    Brady, Mathew. (1823-1896) American Civil War photographer. Note irregular spelling of first name.
    braggadocio. Hollow boasting, after the character Braggadochio in Spenser’s
Fairie Queene
.
    Brahman/Brahmin. The first is a member of a Hindu caste; the second is used to describe long-established socially exclusive people (“Boston Brahmins”). The breed of cattle is spelled
Brahman.
    Brahmaputra. Asian river.
    Brahms, Johannes. (1833-1897) German composer.
    Braille, Louis. (1809-1852) French inventor of the embossed reading system for the blind.
    Bramante, Donato di Pasuccio d’Antonio. (1444-1514) Italian architect and artist.
    Brancusi, Constantin. (1876-1957) Romanian sculptor.
    Brandeis, Louis D(embitz). (1856-1941) American jurist; Brandeis University is named for him.
    Brandywine. Creek in Pennsylvania and Delaware, site of a battle in the Revolutionary War.
    Braque, Georges. (1882-1963) French Cubist painter.
    Brasenose College, Oxford University.
    Brasília. Capital of Brazil.
    Braun, Wernher von. (1912-1977) German-born American space scientist.
    bravado should not be confused with
bravery
. It is a swaggering or boastful display of boldness, often adopted to disguise an underlying timidity. It is, in short, a false bravery and there is nothing courageous about it.
    BRD. Abbreviation of Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
    breach, breech. Frequently confused.
Breach
describes an infraction or a gap. It should always suggest
break
, a word to which it is related.
Breech
applies to the rear or lower portion of things. The main expressions are
breach of faith
(or
promise
),
breech delivery, breeches buoy, breechcloth
, and
breech-loading gun
.
    Breakspear, Nicolas. (c. 1100-1159) Pope Adrian IV.
    Brest-Litovsk, Treaty of. (1918) Treaty that ended Russian involvement in World War I.
    Bretagne. French for Brittany.
    Bretton Woods. Mountain resort in New Hampshire, site of 1944 conference that led to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
    Breuer, Marcel. (1902-1981) Hungarian-born American architect and designer.
    Breugel/Breughel. Use Brueghel.
    Brezhnev, Leonid (Ilyich). (1906-1982) Leader of the Soviet Union (1977-1982).
    bric-a-brac.
    Bridge of San Luis Rey, The. Novel by Thornton Wilder (1927).
    brie. (Not cap.) Cheese.
    Brillat-Savarin, Anthelme. (1755-1826) French gastronome.
    Bristol-Myers Squibb. U.S. pharmaceuticals company.
    Britannia, Britannic, but Brittany for the region (formerly a province) of France. The song is “Rule, Britannia,” with a comma.
    British aristocracy, or peerage, comprises, in descending order, the ranks duke, marquess, earl/countess, viscount, and baron/baroness. Male peers below the rank of duke may be referred to as Lord (i.e., the Earl of Avon may be called Lord Avon), and all peeresses may be referred to as Lady. However, not every lord is a peer. The eldest son of a duke, marquess, or earl, for instance, may use one of his father’s minor titles as a courtesy title and call himself the Marquess of X or Earl of Y, but he is not a peer and is not allowed to sit in the House of Lords. Younger sons of dukes and marquesses may put
Lord
in front of their names: Lord John X. Their wives are then called Lady John X. Daughters of dukes, marquesses, and earls will similarly put
Lady
before their names: Lady Mary Y. Wives of other kinds of peers, and of knights and baronets, are referred to as Lady X or Lady Y; that is, their first names are not used. Sir John Blogg’s wife is simply