Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) (14 page)

Devils Playground.
(No apos.) Desert in California.

Devils Tower National Monument,
Wyoming. (No apos.)

DeVoto, Bernard.
(1897–1955) American historian and biographer. Note
DeVoto
is one word.

De Vries, Peter.
(1910–1993) American novelist.

dexterous
is preferred, but
dextrous
is acceptable.

Dhaulagiri.
Himalayan mountain, seventh highest in the world (26,810 feet; 8,172 meters).

dhow.
Arab boat.

DHTML.
Short for Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language; computer terminology.

Diaghilev, Sergei (Pavlovich).
(1872–1929) Russian ballet impresario, founder of Ballets Russes.

diagnosis, prognosis.
To make a
diagnosis
is to identify and define a problem, usually a disease. A
prognosis
is a projection of the course and likely outcome of a problem.
Diagnosis
applies only to conditions, not to people. Thus, “Asbestos victims were not diagnosed in large numbers until the 1960s” (
Time
) is not quite right. It was the victims' conditions that were not diagnosed, not the victims themselves.

dialect, patois.
Both describe the form of language prevailing in a region and can be used interchangeably, though
patois
is normally better reserved for contexts involving French or its variants. “He spoke in the patois of Yorkshire” is at best jocular. The plural of
patois
, incidentally, is also
patois
.

Dial “M” for Murder.
Note quotation marks around
M
. Drama by Frederick Knott and film by Alfred Hitchcock.

dialysis.

Diana.
Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt; identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

diaphragm.

diarrhea.

Dickinson, Emily (Elizabeth).
(1830–1886) American poet.

Diderot, Denis.
(1713–1784) French encyclopedist and philosopher.

Didrikson, Babe.
(1913–1956) American golfer and athlete. Real name
Mildred Didrikson;
last name later
Didrikson Zaharias.

Diefenbaker, John George.
(1895–1979) Prime minister of Canada (1957–1963).

Dien Bien Phu.
Battle in 1954 that led the French to pull out of Indochina (later Vietnam).

Dieppe.
French port.

dieresis,
not
dia-,
for the punctuation mark consisting of two dots above a vowel, as in Brontë or Chloë, which is used to indicate that a vowel that could be silent should in fact be sounded. (It is a curiosity of English that the word
dieresis
is entitled to, but never given, the mark it describes.) The dieresis mark always goes above the second vowel in a pair. It should not be confused with the German
umlaut
, which also consists of two dots, as in Göring or Müller, but which signifies a phonetic shift rather than an elaboration into separate sounds.

diesel.
Not
deisel
.

Diet.
Japanese parliament.

dietitian.

Dietrich, Marlene.
(1904–1992) German-born actress and singer; born Maria Magdalene von Losch.

Dieu et mon droit.
(Fr.) “God and my right,” motto of the British royal family.

different.
Often used unnecessarily, as in “It is found in more than 250 different types of plants.” In such constructions it can nearly always be deleted without loss.

different from, to, than.
Among the more tenacious beliefs among many writers and editors is that
different
may be followed only by
from
. In fact, the belief has no real basis.
Different from
is, to be sure, the usual form in most sentences and the only acceptable form in some, as when it precedes a noun or pronoun (“My car is different from his” “Men are different from women”). But when
different
introduces a clause, there can be no valid objection to following it with a
to
(though this usage is chiefly British) or
than
, as in this sentence by John Maynard Keynes: “How different things appear in Washington than in London.” You may, if you insist, change it to “How different things appear in Washington from how they appear in London,” but all it gives you is more words, not better grammar.

diffuse.
To spread out; not to be confused with
defuse
, meaning to make safe.

digestible.

dike, dyke.
Either is acceptable.

dilapidated, dilapidation.

dilatory.
Not
-tary.

dildos.

dilemma
refers to a situation involving two courses of action, both unsatisfactory. A person who cannot decide what he wants for breakfast is not in a dilemma.

dilettante.
A lover of, or dabbler in, the fine arts; most often used with a hint of condescension; pl.
dilettantes
or
dilettanti.

diligence, diligent.

dilly-dally.

DiMaggio
(no space) for the baseball players (and brothers) Joe (1914–1999) and Dom (1917–).

Diners Club International.
(No apos.)

Dinesen, Isak.
Pen name of Karen Blixen (1885–1962), Danish writer and baroness.

dingo.
Wild Australian dog; pl.
dingoes.

Dione.
Moon of Saturn.

Dionysius the Elder.
(c. 430–367
BC
) Tyrant of Syracuse who suspended the famous sword above the head of Damocles.

Dionysus
(or
Dionysos
). Not
-ius
; Greek god of wine and revelry, corresponding to the Roman god Bacchus; the adjective is
Dionysian
or
Dionysiac.

diphtheria.
Note that the first syllable is spelled
diph-,
not
dipth-,
and is pronounced accordingly.

dirigible.

dirigisme.
(Fr.) Dominance of the economy by the state; adjective is
dirigiste.

dirndl.
Alpine dress.

disassemble, dissemble.
The first means to take apart; the second means to conceal.

disassociate, dissociate.
The first is not incorrect, but the second has the virtue of brevity.

disastrous.

disc, disk.
There is no special logic to which it is used in American English.
Disc
generally is used for contexts involving music and entertainment (
compact disc, disc jockey, video disc
) and in the contexts of machinery (
disc brakes, disc harrow
).
Disk
is preferred in anatomy (
slipped disk
) and computer storage (
hard disk, floppy disk
). In most situations, the best advice is to strive for consistency.

discernible.
Not
-able.

discomfit, discomfort.
“In this she is greatly assisted by her husband…who enjoys spreading discomfiture in a good cause as much as she does” (
Observer
). The writer here, like many before him, clearly meant
discomfort
, which has nothing in common with
discomfiture
beyond a superficial resemblance.
Discomfit
means to rout, overwhelm, or completely disconcert. Some dictionaries now accept the newer sense of to perplex or induce uneasiness, but I would submit that the distinction is very much worth preserving. If
discomfort
is the condition you have in mind, why not use that word and leave
discomfiture
for less discriminating users?

discothèque.

discreet, discrete.
The first means circumspect, careful, showing good judgment (“He promised to be discreet in his inquiries”). The second means unattached or unrelated (“The compound was composed of discrete particles”).

dishabille.
To be untidily or incompletely dressed; in French, déshabillé.

disheveled.

disinterested, uninterested.
The first means neutral, the second not caring. A
disinterested
person is one who has no stake in the outcome of an event; an
uninterested
person is one who doesn't care. As with
DISCOMFIT, DISCOMFORT
(see above), the distinction is an important one and worth observing.

dismissible.

dispensable.

disposal, disposition.
If you are talking about getting rid of, use
disposal
(“the disposal of nuclear weapons”). If you mean arranging, use
disposition
(“the disposition of troops on the battlefield”).

dissatisfy, dissatisfied, dissatisfaction.
Note
-ss-.

dissect, dissection.

dissemble, disassemble.
The first means to conceal; the second means to take apart.

dissent,
but
dissension.

dissimilar.

dissipate.

dissociate, disassociate.
The first is preferred, but either is acceptable.

dissolvable.

distrait, distraught.
The first means abstracted in thought, absentminded. The second means deeply agitated.

disturb, perturb.
They can often be used interchangeably, but generally the first is better applied to physical agitation, the second to mental agitation.

dived, dove.
Either is acceptable.

diverge.
When two things diverge, they move farther apart (just as when they converge they come together). It is not a word that should be applied freely to any difference of opinion, but only to those in which a rift is widening.

divergences.
Not
-ies.

divertissement.
Light diversion.

Divina Commedia, La.
Dante's
Divine Comedy.

divvy.
To divide, especially equally, as with a jackpot.

Djakarta.
Use
Jakarta.

Djibouti.
African republic, formerly French Somaliland and, briefly, French Territory of Afars and Issas; the capital is also called Djibouti.

Djokovic, Novak.
(1987–) Serbian tennis player.

DNA.
Deoxyribonucleic acid.

Dnieper.
River in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Dniester.
River in Ukraine and Moldova.

Dobbs Ferry
, New York.

Doberman pinscher
for the breed of dog, but
Ludwig Dobermann
for the breeder for whom the dogs are named.

Dodecanese.
Chain of twelve Greek islands, including Rhodes and Kos.

Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge.
(1832–1898) Real name of Lewis Carroll.

Dodoma.
Capital of Tanzania.

Dodsworth.
Novel by Sinclair Lewis (1929).

doggerel.

dogsbody.
A person given menial tasks to perform for a superior.

doily,
pl.
doilies.

Dolce & Gabbana.
Italian fashion firm.

Dollfuss, Engelbert.
(1892–1934) Austrian chancellor (1932–1934), assassinated by Austrian Nazis.

Domenichino.
(1581–1641) Italian painter.

Domesday Book.
Census of England carried out in 1086; pronounced
doomsday
.

Dominica.
Small (pop. 69,000) Caribbean island state; capital Roseau. Not to be confused with nearby
Dominican Republic;
capital Santo Domingo.

dominoes.

Dom Pérignon.
Champagne.

Donatello.
(c. 1386–1466) Italian sculptor, real name Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi.

Donegal.
Irish county, but
Marquess of Donegall.

Don Giovanni.
Opera by Mozart (1787).

Donizetti, Gaetano.
(1797–1848) Italian composer.

doorjamb.

doppelganger.
(Ger.) A person's ghostly double.

Doppler effect.
The change that occurs in sound waves as the source and the observer move closer together or farther apart, named after
Christian Johann Doppler
(1803–1853), Austrian physicist.

dormouse
for the small rodent, which isn't actually a mouse at all. The name is thought to be a corruption of the Norman French
dormeus
, meaning “sleepy.” The plural is
dormice
.