Words on Words: A Dictionary for Writers and Others Who Care about Words

By John B. Bremner

Book Overview

Lists words and terms, useful to journalists and students of the English language, including etymology, usage, and interesting facts.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231044933
• ISBN13: 9780231044936
• Release Date: October 1980
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 405 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

This is a book I always go back to

Good guidance on common language usage problems and pitfalls. I keep a copy close by and have bought copies for friends who write. Worth the money.

Jayhawk Journo

This book is an invaluable, witty, trenchant resource. If you're looking for a writing/grammar guide that gets to the root of language -- to the etymology of the words we leverage day-in and day-out -- then you've found it. I use it all the time. (And Bremne's sardonic humor makes me laugh.) Again, invaluable. Here's just one example: ENVY/JEALOUSY Envy is stronger than jealousy and embraces coveting, as can be glimpsed from the derivations of the words: envy from Latin "invidere," to look at with malice; jealousy from Latin "zelus," zeal, emulation.