Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An updated edition of a useful, entertaining guide to picking the right words (and avoiding the wrong ones). Janet Whitcut has revised Eric Partridge's popular reference to reflect the language of well-informed writers, readers, and speakers today. The book also includes a section of "vogue words", those that have acquired a new power and influence. An indispensable reference. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

Small gray typography may turn off some readers, as may the age of this book and its clearly British orientation (though the latter to a degree is compensated for by bracketed additions for American readers). A foreword explains Partridge's intention ``not to compete'' with Fowler but rather ``to supplement it and complement it, and yet to write a book that should be less Olympian and less austere.'' The result is a treasure trove of information and opinion. Notable articles include Poets' License, Slang, Vogue Words, and Similes, Battered. Directed at a very literate readership, Usage and Abusage is a classic, as fresh today as when it first appeared. It belongs not only in large adult reference collections but in the personal libraries of all who aspire to stylistic elegance, vitality, and distinction. Still, in many reference situations and in office use, there are tools (such as Bernstein's Careful Writer and Perrin's Reference Handbook) that will probably prove more immediately useful though who can say which of these several quasi-competitors, over the years, will prove most useful in libraries and linger longest in the memories of word lovers?