Five Things I Learned from Bill Bryson

I just started reading Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words, by Bill Bryson, and I’ve already learned five things:

1. The British don’t put periods after Mr, Dr, and St because those abbreviations begin with the first letter of the full word and end with the last. (Mr. Bryson calls this kind of abbreviation a contraction.) However, the British still put periods after abbreviations that stop in the midst of a word (e.g., Prof.).
2. Admit to is almost always wrong (e.g., “She admitted to having an affair with the milkman”). To should be deleted. “You admit a misdeed,” says Mr. Bryson, “you do not admit to it.” I admit to knowing nothing of this distinction until now.
3. An altercation is not a fistfight, knife fight, gunfight, or food fight. It is a “heated exchange of words.”
4. Another should be used “to equate two things of equal size and type.” So, saying “I drank three cups of tea at work and another two cups at home” is incorrect. However, changing it to “another three cups at home” would make it OK (though six cups of tea in a day might give me the shakes; I use a jumbo mug). Also correct: “I drank three cups of tea at work and two more cups at home.”
5. It’s OK to say either appendices or appendixes when referring to a book’s back matter. I had learned (where? when? from whom?) that appendixes refers to back matter and that appendices refers to vestigial organs.

And that’s just the a’s. God knows how humbled I’ll be by the time I get to the z’s.

Comments

[Sarah, etc.]

I love Bill Bryson so much. I can't wait to read this one!

[goofy]

After reading "The Mother Tongue" and finding it full of mistakes, I'm a little more skeptical.

1. "Admit to" meaning "make an acknowledgement" is well-established in journalism.

4. This is really weird. It's the first time I've heard about this rule. It isn't about good writing, it's about following a random rule - which is fine, if that's what you want to do, but I'd prefer to write in a way that sounds normal.

[Fritinancy]

Impressive! I'm ordering that book right now.

By the way, if you haven't read Bryson's "Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid"--his memoir of growing up in the Midwest in the '50s--I highly recommend you do so. Even better, check out the audiobook version, which Bryson himself narrates with the perfect deadpan delivery. Hilarious.

[Nikki]

Oooh...now I want to pick up this book (even though it's probably gonna make me feel all stupid and humble quite a few times). :)

[Joy-Mari]

I plan to get married to Bill Bryson when I'm a big girl ... just a pity that he's already taken ;)

But seriously, he is the master and I also learnt much of what I now know from reading this book.

[shoots&leaves]

@Nikki: So far (I'm in the 'B' section), it's made me feel all stupid and humble a bunch of times. But it's also made me feel excited and empowered by its clear-sightedness and generosity of (nitpicking) spirit. Don't hold back: pick it up, and pronto!