Garner's modern american usage
by Bryan A. Garner · first published 2003
73% recommend18% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
A deep, carefully compiled guide to English usage, ranking alongside Fowler and Partridge as a top reference. It settles word-choice questions and offers depth for writers and editors.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A guide to proper American English word usage, grammar, pronunciation, and style features examples of good and bad usage from the media.
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Mentions per year
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A few immediately come to mind: - Garner's Modern American Usage - The Hardware Hacker (I am a huge fan of bunnie) - The Art of Electronics (Horowitz and Hill) I don't really have "reference" books on my desk. Most rotate out quite frequently depending on what I'm…
on “Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?” ↗Garner's focus is on usage, not grammar, so for a usage linter, this doesn't seem like a big problem. Is there an accessible, comprehensive, easy-to-read guide like Garner's Modern American Usage that's considered more accurate? There don't seem to be many options. (I have a copy of GMAU and enjoy it, but mostly for discussion of usage, not the details of grammar)
on “Proselint” ↗Garner's Modern American Usage.
on “Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?” ↗…see at http://proselint.com/approach/ that one of the guiding principles of Proselint is that we defer to experts. In practice, that's meant almost all the advice comes from Bryan Garner's usage guide, Garner's Modern American Usage. He is a careful compiler of advice and you'll find that he is almost never "totally wrong", and when his advice is debated, he knows it, notes it, and provides a thoughtful discussion. re 1, we think…
on “Proselint” ↗…whether "more unique," etc. is right or wrong. So, you see, regarding usage, linguists are of no help in matters of taste. I would suggest you consult a quality reference on the English language, such as "Garner's Modern American Usage." There, you would read that these casual uses of unique ought to be avoided. I'm sorry, but you won't find "Garner's" online for free, so I can't link to it. Consult your local library, while there still…
on “Proposals Toward the End of Writing” ↗If you like Webster's, Garner's Modern American Usage will blow your head off.
on “You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)” ↗…century is that dictionaries took a turn down the path this author is talking about. But that task was filled by style and usage guides. Fowler's modern English usage, Eric partridge: usage and abusage, Garner's Modern American Usage are all fantastic resources that dig deep into the topic of how and why words are used the way they are instead of stopping just at definitions.
on “You're probably using the wrong dictionary” ↗James Somers’ You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014) changed my life for the better. https://jsomers.net/blog/dictionary Bryan Garner’s Modern American Usage is a phenomenal resource as well.
on “When did Google get so weird?” ↗I would add Garner's Modern American Usage.
on “Some things I've learnt about writing” ↗If I may alleviate your preposition anxiety, a quote from Garner's Modern American Usage (p. 654): > The spurious rule about not ending sentences with prepositions is a remnant of Latin grammar, in which a preposition was the one word that a writer could not end a sentence with. But Latin…
on “Amazon cuts Whole Foods prices” ↗You're right, but the problem is much worse than that. Examining 200 entries from Garner's Modern American Usage at random reveals that half of them are easy to implement, the kind of thing that could be assigned as a homework problem (e.g., recognizing that “$10 USD” is redundant, that “very unique” is comparing…
on “Proselint” ↗…in Words https://amzn.com/B01GEROZMQ/, which takes a handful of words and extends their analysis far beyond anything you could find in a comprehensive dictionary. People might also get some use out of Garner’s Modern American Usage https://amzn.com/0195382757. DFW sorta-review https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/HarpersMagazine-2001-...
on “Who Did This? (2017)” ↗…English-speaking place, so I can't say how often it is spoken and for how long it has been, but I see it everywhere on HN and in other parts of the web. It seems that it is more accepted in GB than in the US [1] : “Garner's Modern American Usage (2nd ed., 2003) recommends cautious use of singular they, and avoidance where possible because its use is stigmatized. [...] Garner suggests that use of singular they is more acceptable in British English…
on “Spying on HTTPS” ↗