A friend, having read an article I’d written on the topic,* recommended this book to me. I thought I’d covered all the main pain points in my nine pages. Bryson’s treatment is 230 pages long. A pedant’s pedant! I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking to bring a bit more consistency to his or her writing, and to dispel sources of potential ambiguity.

I enjoyed learning that it’s filet mignon, but fillet for all other dishes. I’d never thought about it. That flak, peculiarly, is a contraction of Fliegerabwehrkanone, which is an antiaircraft gun. And that “gilding the lily” is wrongfully adapted from Shakespeare’s passage in King John (“To gild refined gold, to paint the lily . . . / Is Wasteful and ridiculous excess.”) That reminded me of the line “Pride goeth before the fall”, which is an oft-repeated yet incorrect adaptation of the verse in Proverbs. (“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”)

My one tiny issue with Bryson’s text is that his explanations aren’t always in the same order as the words. For instance, with the entry “hail, hale”, he explains hale and then hail. It’s somewhat off-putting. It happens again with “principal, principle” and similarly, elsewhere throughout the book.

Overall, an enjoyable read. And a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

* https://almossawi.com/plain-english-c...

Well, I suppose if I'd paid more attention to the subtitle, I might have understood, but I didn't, so I didn't. It's a really good reference tool, but not the amusing narrative I was expecting. As a reference though, it'd be a great addition to the bookshelf.

A great book, but more of a personalised dictionary to dip into rather than a cover-to-cover read. In his usual easy-to-read, flowing text, Bill sorts out the correct use of many words which are often misspelled or confused with similar words which have entirely different meanings.

Engaging and informative. And, even more satisfying, validating…

J'adore Bill Bryson
Ce livre est plus sous forme de lexique ou dictionnaire
On apprend quelques subtilités de langage
Mais j'accroche moins

Bryson at his most informative for anyone interested in the English language. (For its antithesis read Leo Rosten's The Education of Hyman Kaplan!)

Received quickly and in perfect condition! Thank you, seller!

Oh my gosh!! This book is a mindblower! I have been reading it from cover to cover. Not bad considering it's just a book of words! Bu that's Bill Bryson for you. He has made the discovering of meanings of words, some oddball, but not ALL, a fun project. I had thought I had a bountiful number of word meanings stored away in my brain for recall at any moment. But I have come to realize what a fat ego I had. If you're a word person, try it, you'll love it!

Do you put 'spoonsful' or 'spoonfuls' of sugar into tea? Do you know the difference between defining and non-defining clauses and between 'androgynous' and 'androgenous'? Can you tell irony from sarcasm and a 'prophecy' from 'prophesy'? If all of this is second nature, you don't need this book. But you'd probably want to read it anyway.

The great triumph of Troublesome Words is that it's arranged like a dictionary but is interesting enough to read cover to cover as though it were a novel. It projects a sense of personality (Bryson's) and his values: companies' eccentric and convention-defying names - with backward facing letters, for example - should never be allowed to become 'a distraction in print'. It bears the hallmark of Bryson's distinctive style: conversational, witty and taut. All it lacks is a narrative.

Although essentially a work of reference, Brysonisms lighten the way. The entry for 'that' and 'which', for instance, advises brushing up on those clauses, defining and non- . 'Learning these distinctions is not, it must be said, anyone's idea of a good time, but it is one technical aspect of grammar that every professional user of English should understand because it is at the root of an assortment of grammatical errors.' And woe betide anyone who spells 'barbecue' with a 'q' and hyphens because they are clearly 'not ready for unsupervised employment'.

Other books of this type are more famous, authoritative and formidable - those by Fowler and Partridge in particular. But this is actually entertaining as well as instructive, and is also more up to date (and therefore more in touch with contemporary usage). It has my vote, anyway.

I got the Kindle version of this book, which I wouldn't recommend, while I recommend the book itself as a good resource.  It's never a good idea to get this kind of reference book on a Kindle, because it's a pain to go back and look for a specific reference, which is normally how you'd use it.  Having said that, I found it really enlightening.  Bryson doesn't just cover words that are easily confused or frequently misused, he also points out facts about various subjects--geography, biology, politics, etc.-- that people often mistakenly assume.  I was embarrassed to find that I was completely wrong about the capitol of Australia for who knows how many years (Canberra!).  I find that breadth of coverage keeps my interest up and his tone is humorous and not painfully didactic like other books of this type.  I'm planning to get this in a paperback, as I expect I'll refer to it repeatedly in the future.

Excelente aquisição para a biblioteca de um professor de inglês ou de alguém apaixonado pela língua inglesa.

On the same day, I ordered two used copies from 2 different sellers.  They both arrived as promised...and in near "Bookstore" condition. BONUS...one of them was signed by Mr. Bryson. I had just become aquainted with Bill Bryson months before when I was given his audiobook of "At Home"...which I have in my car and listen to when on the road.  I listen to it in short segments as he offers so much information...my mind goes in to overload.  I then ordered his "In the Woods" in audio which was delightful and a fairly "quick listen!"  He has a huge store of information and a delightful way of sharing it.  Even the Dictionary of Troublesome Words will make you smile.  I love grammar so I love this book, "albeit" it did not have two of my favorite words included..."ergo" I should only give it 4 stars...but I acquiesced and give it a 5!!  I have enjoyed all of his works to this point and hope to add more to my library.  If you like words...this is a fun read!