The Accidents of Style

"His explanations of usage errors are clear and frequently entertaining . . . Sensible advice for both aspiring writers and word lovers." — Booklist Accidents of style occur all over the English-speaking world, in print and on the Internet, thousands of times every day. They range from minor fender benders, such as confusing their and there, to serious smashups, such as misusing sensual for sensuous or writing loathe when you mean loath. Charles Harrington Elster shows you how to navigate the hairpin turns of grammar, diction, spelling, and punctuation with an entertaining driver's manual covering 350 common word hazards and infractions, arranged in order of complexity for writers of all levels. Elster illustrates these surprisingly common accidents with quotations from numerous print and online publications, many of them highly regarded—which perhaps should make us feel better: If the horrendous redundancy close proximity and the odious construction what it is, is have appeared in the New York Times, maybe our own accidents will be forgiven. But that shouldn't keep us from aspiring to accident-free writing and speaking. If you want to get on the road to writing well, The Accidents of Style will help you drive home what you want to say! "Shines a bright light on 350 major potholes, pitfalls, and pratfalls." —Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English "Eminently readable . . . It is useful, nuanced—and funny, too." —Constance Hale, author of Sin and Syntax