Mind the Gaffe!: A Troubleshooter's Guide to English Style and Usage

ISBN-13: 9780061132209 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 320 str.

R. L. Trask

Opis

A linguist with attitude, R. L. Trask was a steadfast soldier in the never-ending War of Words, fighting the good fight for standard written English. Revered for its insight and legendary for its -cheek, - Trask's Mind the Gaffe is an indispensable guidebook for wordsmiths and language mavens of every stripe, providing safe passage through the ubiquitous minefields of improper usage.

• Artiste: This pretentious word . . . commonly means -fraud pretending to be an artist.- Don't use it unless you mean to be insulting.
• Amoral, Immoral: An amoral person is one who does not know the difference between right and wrong. An immoral person knows the difference but does wrong anyway.
• Reaction: A reaction is a sudden and spontaneous response to a stimulus, such as jumping, shrieking, or fainting. The word is not properly used as a fancy word for any kind of considered response. If you circulate a policy document, you can ask others for their opinions, or for their criticisms, but do not ask them for their reactions unless you hope to hear responses like -I burst into uncontrollable laughter.-