Free Bryson's Dictionary For Writers And Editors (v5.0) by Bill Bryson Page B

coffee and restaurants is Chock full o’Nuts.
    chocolate.
    Choctaw. Native American group.
    cholesterol.
    Chomsky, Noam. (1928–) American linguist.
    Chongqing. City in Sichuan Province, China; formerly referred to as Chungking.
    Chopin, Frédéric François. (1810–1849) Polish composer.
    chord, cord. A
chord
is a group of musical notes or a type of arc in geometry; a
cord
is a length of rope or similar material of twisted strands, or a stack of wood. You speak with your vocal cords.
    Chou En-lai. (1898–1976) Prime minister of China (1949–1976). The name is now usually spelled Zhou Enlai.
    Christ Church, Christchurch.
Christ Church
is the spelling and full name of the Oxford college (i.e., not
Christ Church College
). The communities in New Zealand and England are
Christchurch
.
    Christiania. Former name of Oslo.
    Christie’s. London auction house; formally Christie, Manson & Woods, but the parent company styles itself Christies International (no apos.).
    Christ’s College, Cambridge University.
    Christy Minstrels.
    chromosome.
    chronic, acute.
Chronic
means constant or long-standing;
acute
(when applied to an illness or a situation) means approaching a crisis.
    chrysalis. The formal plural, and the one to use in scientific contexts, is
chrysalides,
but
chrysalises
is acceptable for more general writing.
    chrysanthemum.
    chukker. Period of play in polo.
    Church of Christ, Scientist (with comma) is the formal name of the Christian Science church.
    Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Formal title of the Mormon Church.
    Churchs Ferry (no. apos.), North Dakota.
    chutzpah. (Yid.) Shameless impudence, brashness.
    Chuvashiya. Russian republic.
    ciao. (It.) Salutation meaning either hello or goodbye.
    Ciba-Geigy. Swiss pharmaceuticals company.
    Cicero, Marcus Tullius. (106–43 BC ) Roman orator and statesman.
    Ciechanover, Aaron. (1947–) Israeli scientist, awarded Nobel Prize for Chemistry (2004).
    Cimoszewicz, Wlodzimierz. (1950–) Prime minister of Poland (1996–1997).
    Cincinnati, Ohio.
    Cincinnatus, Lucius Quintus. (c. 519–c. 439 BC ) Roman general.
    Cinderella.
    CinemaScope. Wide-screen film system.
    cinéma vérité.
    cineraria. Type of flower; pl.
cinerarias.
    cinnamon.
    cinquecento. (It.) Literally “the five hundreds” Italian name for the sixteenth century.
    Cinque Ports, England; pronounced
sink.
    cipher. Not
cypher
.
    circadian. Taking place in twenty-four-hour cycles.
    Circe. In Greek mythology, an enchantress on the island of Aeaea who detained Odysseus and his men, turning the latter into swine and bearing a son by the former.
    circumstances, in the and under the. A useful distinction can be drawn between the two.
In the circumstances
should indicate merely that a situation exists: “In the circumstances, I began to feel worried.”
Under the circumstances
should denote a situation in which action is necessitated or inhibited: “Under the circumstances, I had no choice but to leave.”
    cirrhosis.
    Citigroup Inc., the financial services corporation, has a habit of dazzling inconsistency with regard to capitalization and spacing when naming subsidiaries. Among its offshoots are Citibank, Citi Cards, CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage , and Citi Private Bank. Take care.
    Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia baseball stadium, home of the Phillies.
    Citlatépetl. Dormant Mexican volcano.
    C. Itoh. Japanese trading company.
    Citroën. French automobile.
    city names. Where cities have the same name as surrounding territory, it is normal to capitalize
City
even when it is not formally part of the place name. Thus,
New York City, Mexico City, Luxembourg City, Quebec City.
    Ciudad Trujillo. Former name of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.
    Civitavecchia. Italian coastal city, north of Rome in Latium.
    Clare, County, Ireland.
    Claridge’s Hotel, London, but Hôtel Claridge, Paris.
    clarinetist.
    Clarke, Arthur