A Dictionary of Modern American Usage

Living in a world of increasingly broken English, sometimes it feels like books such as this one are the only reason I can still understand myself think. Beyond that, this book keeps my writing sharp no matter how long it becomes since I graduated.

I am now a three-edition aficionado of Bryan A. Garner's Modern American Usage (MAU). I purchased the first edition at the South Tower of the World Trade Center in 1998. Then, under more sober circumstances, I purchased the second edition in 2003. Finally, last week, I became the happy owner of the new Modern American Usage, Third Edition (MAU 3, for short). The pleasures from MAU 3 are substantial, with only a few minor reservations. First, the major pleasures: * As with the first two editions, almost every page of MAU 3 brings me a new wealth of useful reminders and eye-opening information. For example, readers cannot imagine how pleased I was to learn in MAU 3 about "Contronyms" (e.g., the two opposed meanings of "scan"), which must take their place alongside my discovery of "Mondegreens" in MAU 2. One of my favorite mondegreens, encountered firsthand, is "I led the pigeons to the flag," an odd mishearing of "I pledge allegiance to the flag." (I politely told the young "pigeons" reciter about his error, but he said he liked his version better than the traditional one. It is certainly funnier.) * By making MAU 3 taller and wider in format than MAUs 1 and 2, the author has been able to retain the previous prefaces and essay ("Making Peace in the Language Wars") while adding a new preface and an essay (funkily titled "The Ongoing Struggles of Garlic-Hangers," inspired for once by the otherwise annoying linguist John McWhorter). More important, this expansive format has allowed Mr. Garner to pack addditional nuggets of information into his reference book, especially the section called "Glossary of Grammatical, Rhetorical, and Other Language-Related Terms." This section, in slightly smaller type, is a miracle of informative compression, whether focusing on the "schwa" or the "ergative verb" or "auxesis" or "multiple sentence forms" or "polysyndeton" or almost anything else. It is a treasure trove of the mainstream and the esoteric. * The innovative, five-stage Language-Change Index in MAU 3, far from being a gimmick, gives readers a true sense of where certain controversial usages rank along a continuum. With this ranking, readers gain a perspective on verbal change, from the highly rejectable status at Stage 1 (e.g., the double negative "unrelentlessly") to the grudging acceptance at Stage 5 (e.g., "finalize," a jargonic favorite of former President Eisenhower). Among other things, this Index at Stage 5 is Mr. Garner's stouthearted attempt to end dead-horse beating. (By the way, his "Key to the Language-Change Index" is certain to induce the smiles and laughs of approval in other readers that it did for me. Who says a language authority's continuum has to be dull?) * The engaging new essay in MAU 3, "The Ongoing Struggles of Garlic-Hangers," recognizes that defeatist teachers and hypocritical linguists are dragging English usage faster than ever into confusion and decay. No wonder the conciliatory tone

For years I have relied upon and loved Fowler's Modern English Usage. I think Garner is a terrific successor to Fowler. He expands upon what Fowler offers and puts more of an American spin on his entries. I particularly like his expanded entries on pronounciation, phrasal adjectives, and hypercorrection. I think this volume is very useful for those who taking writing seriously.

Here's something that should make language lovers sit up and take notice: a thorough, gently entertaining but always informative book about the American language, written by a lawyer, in plain English. For those who love the language, those who revere H.W. Fowler, John Bremner or Theodore Bernstein, but don't need the posturing or pomposity that sometimes accompanies columns or books on language, or those who simply enjoy wandering through the pages of a book that examines and comments upon commas, virgules, variants, Bryan A. Garner's Dictionary of Modern American Usage is the book to read. Garner takes on all manner of problems, from the proper way to use the word each, to Hobson's Choice, to ordinance vs. ordnance and hundreds of other misuses and misunderstandings about American usage. Most entries are quite short, as in the notation that "meld together" is a redundancy, while others, such as the entry on mendacity/mendicity/mendicancy, detail the distinctions that should be made in using these similar-sounding words. Most entries are accompanied by good, contemporary examples, but are sometimes explained through citations of older works. The book is quite long,707 pages of entries in the hardcover edition, but worth the time of anyone who wants to brush up language skills, rediscover old rules, dispose of some other old rules, or broaden understanding of the differences between American and British usage. Garner frequently cites newspapers and magazines when pointing out correct usage or mistakes, which makes the material fresh and relevant: Comprise and compose: If the whole comprises the parts, the reverse can't be true, e.g., "Of the 50 stocks that comprise the index, 40 had gains...", From Florida Today, June 15, 1997. In other words, comprise is not synonymous with "make up", no matter how many times people use it incorrectly. extradite, indict, the former meaning to surrender or deliver a fugitive to another jurisdiction, the latter from the Latin to "write down" but some write as if the words are related, e.g., Ventura has a court hearing Thursday in San Juan, where she is expected to waive her right to fight extradiction (read extradition)..." From the Boston Herald, Oct.4, 1994. and Prosecutors argued that..he had jumped bail after a 1984 federal mail-fraud conviction and disappeared for nine years until being found and extradicted (read extradited)..." From The New York Times, Oct.7, 1994. deceptive, deceptious. The latter is a needless variant. Or, if we have a perfectly good word, we don't need the invented alternative, which just causes readers to pause wonder about its meaning. He also provides some useful definitions I've not encountered before, for example: dysphemism, the substitution of a disagreeable word or phrase for a neutral or even positive one. It is the opposite of euphemism. Some examples: bean counter for accountant jock for athlete jarhead for Marine bleeding heart for liberal sawbones for surgeon mouthpiece for

This is an amazing book! I use it every single time that I edit anything, and this is one book I don't mind carrying with me to clients' sites. Garner's book has extensive coverage of most aspects of our language, broken down by individual words and phrases; his thorough cross-referencing helps the user successfully navigate throughout the entire book. Garner provides numerous examples of correct and incorrect usage of every word covered, and for each incorrect usage, he provides a suggested revision. If more than one variation of a word usage or phrase is possible (e.g., "different from" vs. "different than"), Garner tells the reader which term or phrase is used more frequently (or is more preferable) under which circumstances. It is so refreshing to see a book that provides so many rewrites instead of just criticizing poor word usage/style; the rewrites alone provide invaluable assistance to the writer and editor alike. To top if off, Garner's writing style is humorous, friendly, and quite approachable-not a hint of arrogance or condescension. Garner's upbeat, helpful attitude, along with his citing of many examples of venerable publications/authors erring in some way, makes it very difficult to feel bad about not knowing the proper usage of some word or phrase. My only criticism of his book is that he doesn't cover every single word or phrase that vexes me-but this is a minor "nit" and doesn't occur often enough to deter me from using his book on a daily basis and recommending his book to all my colleagues.

Mr. Garner's book should be on your bookshelf if you want to be recognized for excellent usage of English. To illustrate good and bad usage, DMAU is full of documented examples from books and periodicals, as well as references to Fowler and Follet. Fortunately, Mr. Garner knows more often than not which contemporary usage battles to take sides on and which are better left conceded to the "liberal linuguists." Thus, the reader can focus on the goal of developing crisp, clear meaning in written and oral communication. Because poor communication is so prevelent in business and industry, you can be recognized as a "transaction cost" cutter in your organization if you master the techniques laid out by Mr. Garner. And with that kind of recognition, the book is sure to pay for itself several times over.