Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) (40 page)

Shostakovich, Dmitri.
(1906–1975) Russian composer.

shriek.

shriveled, shriveling.

shrove.
Past tense of
shrive,
to give confession.

Shrove Tuesday.
The day before Ash Wednesday.
Shrovetide
is the three days before Ash Wednesday.

Shubert Theatre,
New York City.

Shultz, George.
(1920–) American statesman.

Shute, Nevil.
Pen name of Nevil Shute Norway (1899–1960), British novelist.

Sibelius, Johan Julius Christian.
(1865–1957) Finnish composer.

sibilant.
Hissing.

Sibylline.

sic.
(Lat.) Thus. Used, usually in square brackets, to show that a word or passage is being quoted exactly despite any errors or infelicities it may contain.

Sichuan.
Chinese province formerly known as
Szechwan
or
Szechuan;
capital Chengdu.

sic transit gloria mundi.
(Lat.) “So passes the glory of the world.”

Sidgwick & Jackson.
British publisher.

Sidney, Sir Philip.
(1554–1586) English poet.

Sidney Sussex College,
Cambridge University.

SIDS.
Sudden infant death syndrome.

siege.

Siegfried Line.
Defensive fortification built by Germany along its western border before World War II.

Siena,
Italy.

Sierra Leone.
Republic in West Africa; capital Freetown.

Sierra Nevada.
Not
Sierra Nevada Mountains
; “mountains” is already present in the term.

sieve.

signatory.

Sign of Four, The,
not
the Four
, for the Sherlock Holmes story.

signor, signora, signorina.
Italian for Mr., Mrs., and Miss.

Sikkim.
Former Himalayan kingdom annexed by India in 1975.

Sikorsky helicopters.

silhouette.

silicon chip.
Not
-cone.

sillabub.
Variant spelling of
syllabub.

Sillitoe, Alan.
(1928–) English novelist.

silvan
(pref.)/
sylvan
(alt.).

s'il vous plaît.
(Fr.) “Please.”

simile, metaphor.
Both are figures of speech in which two things are compared. A
simile
likens one thing to another, dissimilar one: “He ran like the wind.” A
metaphor
acts as if the two compared things are identical and substitutes one for the other; thus comparing the beginning of time to the beginning of a day produces the metaphor “the dawn of time.”

Simon & Schuster.
Publisher.

simpatico
(It.)/
simpático
(Sp.). Friendly, congenial.

simulacrum.
A likeness or copy; a deceptive substitute.

Sinai.
Not
the
.

since.
A common error is seen here: “Since April the company stopped giving discounts to students.”
Since
indicates action starting at a specified time in the past and continuing to the present. The verbs in sentences in which it appears must also indicate action that is continuing. Make it either “In April the company stopped” or “Since April the company has stopped.”

sinecure.
A profitable or advantageous position requiring little or no work.

Sinepuxent Bay,
Maryland.

sine qua non.
(Lat.) “A necessary condition.”

sinfonietta.
A small orchestra.

singe, singed, singeing.

Singin' in the Rain.
Not
Singing
. Classic MGM musical (1952).

Sinhalese.
Main population group of Sri Lanka.

Sinn Fein.
(Gaelic) Literally “we ourselves” Irish nationalist movement and political party. Pronounced
shinn fane.

siphon
is the usual spelling, but
syphon
is also acceptable.

sirocco.
Type of hot wind originating in the Sahara and blowing over southern Europe.

Sistani, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-.
(1930–) Senior Shia Muslim cleric in Iraq.

Sisyphus.
Not
-ss-.
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king of Corinth who was condemned for eternity to push a heavy stone up a hill, only to have it roll down again. Hence
Sisyphean
describes some endless task.

Sithole, Rev. Ndabaningi.
(1920–2000) Zimbabwean clergyman and politician.

sitz bath.
A chairlike tub in which the thighs and hips are immersed in water.

Sixth Avenue,
New York; former, but still widely used, name for the Avenue of the Americas.

sizable.

Skagerrak.
Note
-rr-.
Channel of the North Sea lying between Norway and Denmark.

skedaddle.

skein.
Flock of geese in flight or bundle of thread or yarn; pronounced
skane
.

skeptic, skepticism.

ski, skied, skiing.

skiddoo.
To depart hastily.

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
American architectural firm.

skilless.
Note
-ll-
. This clumsy word, meaning to be without skills, is better avoided.

skillful.

skirmish.

skulduggery.
Not
skull-.

sleight of hand.
Not
slight
.

sloe.
A bluish-black wild plum. Hence,
sloe-eyed, sloe gin.

slough.
Pronounced to rhyme with
cow,
it means a swamp or bog; pronounced to rhyme with
rough,
it means to shed skin.

smart alec
(or
aleck).

smidgen
(or
smidgin
or
smidgeon
).

Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.

smoky.

Smollett, Tobias.
(1721–1771) British novelist.

Smuts, Jan Christian.
(1870–1950) Prime minister of South Africa (1919–1924, 1939–1948).

Smyrna.
Former name of Izmir, Turkish city on Aegean Sea.

SNCF.
Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer, French national railway company.

sneaked, snuck.
The day may come well when
snuck
supersedes
sneaked
—it probably already has done so in speech—but it is worth bearing in mind that many authorities continue to regard it as nonstandard. Use
sneaked
instead.

snippet.

Soane's Museum, Sir John,
London. Note apos.

so as to.
The first two words can generally be deleted without loss, as they might have been here: “The rest of the crowd stuffed hot dogs into their faces so as to avoid being drawn into the discussion.”

sobriquet.
A nickname; pronounced
so-bri-kay'
.

Society of Friends.
Formal name of the Quakers.

Sofia.
Capital of Bulgaria; in Bulgarian, Sofiya.

SoHo.
Manhattan district; short for South of Houston Street.

soi-disant.
(Fr.) Self-styled.

soigné
(Fr. masc.)/
soignée
(Fr. fem.). Well groomed.

sojourn.

soliloquy, soliloquies.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,
New York City.

solos.

soluble, solvable.
The first is something that can be dissolved; the second is something that can be solved.

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander.
(1918–) Russian novelist.

somersault.

sometime, some time.
Most often it is one word: “They will arrive sometime tomorrow.” But when
some
is used as an adjective equivalent to
a short
or
a long
or
an indefinite
, it should be two words: “The announcement was made some time ago.”

Three considerations may help you to make the distinction:

1.
Some time
as two words is usually preceded by a preposition (“for some time,” “at some time”) or followed by a helping word (“some time ago”).

2.
Some time
can always be replaced with an equivalent expression (“a short time ago,” “a long time ago,” etc.);
sometime
cannot.

3. When spoken, greater stress is placed on
time
when
some time
is two words.

Sommet Center,
Nashville; pronounced
so-may.

Somoza, Anastasio.
(1925–1980) President of Nicaragua (1967–1972, 1974–1979).

Sondheim, Stephen.
(1930–) American composer and lyricist.

son et lumière.
(Fr.) Nighttime sound and light show.

Sophocles.
(495–406
BC
) Greek playwright.

sophomore, sophomoric.

Sorbonne,
Paris; formally Académie Universitaire de Paris.

Sorenstam, Annika.
(1970–) Swedish professional golfer.

sortie.
A quick attack, especially by the besieged on their besiegers; also, one mission by a single military aircraft.

Sotheby's.
Auctioneers; formerly Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., now Sotheby's Holdings Inc.

Sotomayor, Javier.
(1967–) Cuban high jumper.

souchong.
Chinese tea.

soufflé.
Light, puffy dish made with egg whites.

souk.
Market in Arab countries.

soupçon.
A very small amount.

sou'wester.
Rain hat with a broad brim at the back or a southwest wind.

Sovereign Bancorp Inc.
Pennsylvania-based bank.

Soviet Union, the,
formally ceased to exist in 1991. It comprised fifteen Union Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Soyinka, Wole.
(1934–) Nigerian writer; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature 1986. Full name: Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka.

spate
properly describes a torrent, not a flurry.

special, especial.
The first means for a particular purpose, the second to a high degree. A special meal may be especially delicious.

specie.
Coins, as opposed to paper money.

species, genus.
The first is a subgroup of the second. The convention is to capitalize the genus but not the species. Thus,
Homo sapiens
. The plurals are
species
and
genera
.

Spenser, Edmund.
(1552–1599) English poet.

Spetsai,
Greece.

spicy.
Not
-ey.

Spielberg, Steven.
(1946–) American film director and producer.

spigot.

spiky.
Not
-ey.

spinnaker.
Type of sail.

spinney.
Small woodland.

Spinoza, Baruch de.
(1632–1677) Dutch philosopher.

Spitsbergen.
Norwegian island in the Svalvard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

spittoon.

split infinitives.
The belief that it is a serious breach of grammar to split an infinitive (that is, to put an adverb between “to” and a verb as in “to boldly go”) is without foundation. It is certainly not a grammatical error. If it is an error at all, it is a rhetorical fault—a question of style—and not a grammatical one. It is practically impossible to find a recognized authority who condemns the split infinitive.

spoliation,
not
spoil-,
for the state of being spoiled.

spontaneous, spontaneity.

spoonfuls.
Not
spoonsful
or
spoons full
.

Spratly Islands.
South China Sea.

springbok.
An antelope.

squeegee.
Device for cleaning windows.