Economist Style Guide

144 pages. Dj fadedRare is the style guide that a person--even a word person--would want to read cover to cover. But The Economist Style Guide, designed, as the book says, to p romote good writing, is so witty and rigorous as to be irresistible. The book co nsists of three parts. The first is the Economist's style book, which acts as a position paper of sorts in favor of clear, concise, correct usage. The big no-no es listed in the book's introduction are: Do not be stuffy. Do not be hectori ng or arrogant. Do not be too pleased with yourself. Do not be too chatty. . Do not be too didactic. [And] do not be sloppy. Before even getting to th e letter B, we are reminded that aggravate means make worse, not irritate or ann oy; that an alibi is the proven fact of being elsewhere, not a false explanation ; and that anarchy means the complete absence of law or government. It may be ha rmonious or chaotic. Part 2 of the book describes many of the spelling, grammar , and usage differences between British and American English. While many Britici sms are familiar to most Americans and vice versa, there are some words--such as homely, bomb, and table--that take on quite different meanings altogether when they cross the Atlantic. And part 3 offers a handy reference to such information as common business abbreviations, accountancy ratios, the Beaufort Scale, commo dity-trade classifications, currencies, laws, measures, and stock-market indices . The U.S. reader should be aware (but not scared off by the fact) that some of the style issues addressed are specifically British. --Jane Steinberg.…