Webster's Dictionary of English Usage

Description

From Amy Einsohn's The Copyeditor's Handbook, A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, page 61:

"The best usage guide by far is Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, a thousand pages of short articles, from "a, an" to "zoom." Each entry includes comments from the so-called language experts, examples from respected writers, and a good dose of commonsense advice."

From the Inside Flap:
Webster's Dictionary of English Usage is a work of unparalleled authority and scholarship from Merriam-Webster, America's leading dictionary publisher for almost 150 years. Our editors have long been documenting the use of those words that pose special problems of confused or disputed usage. Thus this work brings to the reader resources that include what is believed to be the world's largest archive of 20th-century English usage, almost 14 million citations (examples of words used in context), collected over 100 years from thousands of sources, ranging from the Times Literary Supplement to Scientific American.

Webster's Dictionary of English Usage is intended to serve the reader or writer who wishes to go beyond the personal predilections of a particular commentator or the subjective pronouncements of a usage panel. It is ideal for anyone who wants to understand the nature of the problematical usage and what others have had to say about it; how accomplished writers actually deal with the matter, whether what they do is in keeping with the received wisdom or not; and the basis for the advice offered.

Webster's Dictionary of English Usage presents all of these things in a clear and readable fashion. For those who love the language this is not just a reference book to be picked up only to settle a dispute or solve a practical writing problem. Here is the real stuff of language, the opportunity to experience its vitality through more than 20,000 illustrative quotations from the best writers in the language.

Webster's Dictionary of English Usage belongs on the bookshelf or desk of everyone who is serious about the language. Its wealth of information and careful guidance will amply repay the modest investment of its purchase.

Also of interest: Garner's Modern American Usage, 2nd Edition (but be careful, the main download link is bad, use the links I posted today in a comment instead!)

Tags: EnglishUsage, WritingReference

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Webster's Dictionary of English Usage

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