A Dictionary of Modern English Usage

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H. W. Fowler

Nonfiction

Jul 31, 2018

A lexicographer, per Samuel Johnson, the granddaddy of the breed, is a “harmless drudge,” but Henry Watson Fowler may be the exception that proves the rule. It is one of the pleasures of his peerless Dictionary of Modern English Usage that, as astonishing as it may seem, its entries—an A-to-Z of questions of grammar, syntax, style, and the choice, formation, and pronunciation of words—reveal their author to be a man of good humor and good cheer. Animated throughout with brief humorous essays (try “Elegant Variation,” “Fused Participle,” “Novelty-Hunting,” or “Unequal Yokefellows”), Fowler's seven-hundred-odd pages are filled with delights, and his defanging of such beastly problems as Preposition at end and Split infinitive are not to be missed. In short, this most elegant, most essential of all English usage books will not only help you refine your writing, think more clearly, and bring you generally closer to heaven, but provide you with hours of entertaining reading as well.

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Rodney

Jan 6, 2024

Forget Strunk and White, forget the Chicago Manual of Style, Fowler's is THE reference for anyone who writes. Practical, accurate and humourous, it makes for entertaining reading in its own right. Double your fun and get an edition edited by Ernest Gowers.

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