This is a guide to English usage for readers and writers, professional and amateur, established and aspiring, formal trainees and those trying to break in; students of English, both language and literature, and their teachers.

In Quite Literally, Wynford Hicks answers questions like:

• What's an alibi, a bete noire, a celibate, a dilemma?
• Should underway be two words?
• Is the word 'meretricious' worth using at all?
• How do you spell realise - with an s or a z - and should bete be bete?
• Should you split infinitives, end...

Concentrating on writing rather than speech, Wynford Hicks examines the usage of uncommon words, slang, & constructions that challenge conventional rules of grammar. When can it be right to split an infinitive, use jargon, or adopt a euphemism? And does the Queen speak the Queen's English?

English for Journalists has established itself in newsrooms the world over as an invaluable guide to the basics of English and to those aspects of writing, such as reporting speech, house style and jargon, which are specific to the language of journalism. Written in a highly accessible and engaging style, English for Journalists covers the fundamentals of grammar, spelling, punctuation and journalistic writing, with all points illustrated through a series of concise and illuminating examples. The book features practical, easy to follow advice with examples of common mistakes and problem...