Can I read The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words Second Edition on EtoBox?

The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words Second Edition by Bill Bryson is a reference work available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words Second Edition about?

One of the English language's most skilled and beloved writers guides us all toward precise, mistake-free usage.As usual Bill Bryson says it best: "English is a dazzlingly idiosyncratic tongue, full of quirks and irregularities that often seem willfully at odds with logic and common sense. This is a language where 'cleave' can mean to cut in half or to hold two halves together; where the simple word 'set' has 126 different meanings as a verb, 58 as a noun, and 10 as a participial adjective; where if you can run fast you are moving swiftly, but if you are stuck fast you are not moving at all; [and] where 'colonel,' 'freight,' 'once,' and 'ache' are strikingly at odds with their spellings." As a copy editor for the London Times in the early 1980s, Bill Bryson felt keenly the lack of an easy-to-consult, authoritative guide to avoiding the traps and snares in English, and so he brashly suggested to a publisher that he should write one. Surprisingly, the proposition was accepted, and for "a sum of money carefully gauged not to cause embarrassment or feelings of overworth," he proceeded to write that book--his first, inaugurating his stellar career.Now, a decade and a half later, revised

Who reads The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words Second Edition?

Author

Bill Bryson

Publisher

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books

Published

1984

Language

EN

ISBN

9780140512007

Category

reference

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Humanities

Rating

4.9 / 5 (8 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14