The Economist Style Guide

Jonah Goldberg at The Corner posted "Useful stuff we should all know, but most don't, " in which he linked to "Some common solecisms". Some interesting stuff from the list:

Blooded means pedigreed or initiated. Bloodied means wounded.
Cartel. A cartel is a group that restricts supply in order to drive up prices. Do not use it to describe any old syndicate or association of producers—especially of drugs.
Cassandra's predictions were correct but not believed.

And if you read the whole list, you'll encounter one I thought was quite well put:

Like governs nouns and pronouns, not verbs and clauses. So as in America not like in America. But authorities like Fowler and Gowers is a perfectly acceptable alternative to authorities such as Fowler and Gowers.

And -- why,yes, authorities do like Fowler and Gowers. I do.


More here. The links to the Johnson essays require a subscription, but the link to Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" takes you to a great read.


One of these days I'll sit down with a cup of tea and do an item-by-item comparison: the Style Guide from The Economist and this one.