Usage Dictionary

The usage, typography, and style advice I cover below rely on my ear and my research using Garner’s Modern English Usage, Usage and Abusage, The Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of Style, New Oxford American Dictionary, the Online Etymology Dictionary, and the Google Books Ngram Viewer. For some topics I also reference the Publication Manual of the APA, AP Stylebook, and The Elements of Typographic Style. I lean toward a prescriptive expression of written English, which means that I seek to encourage logical prose that is clear, precise, consistent. I try to maintain this as a stricter resource for those who care enough to keep their writing free from the fluff of every new vogue term and fad phrase—the junk that adds no quality to our language. I am no pedant, but I am no pushover for the daylight onslaught of lazy usage. Language changes, but not all change improves language. Or, to quote one of my favorite books, “simple illiteracy is no basis for linguistic evolution.”

I try to add a few entries every month, though that habit depends on what discrepancies I notice, what questions I have, what I feel like writing about, and how much time I have. If you have suggestions or corrections, please use the means of contact listed in my about page. I am quick to right my own mistakes.

May the below alphabetical navigator aid your search, especially as this dictionary continues to grow, though you are welcome to peruse the entries at your leisure.