Bill Bryson Writes a Dictionary -- What's the Meaning of That?

I picked up BRYSON'S DICTIONARY FOR WRITERS AND EDITORS today and skimmed it late this afternoon. I thought I'd select 10 of my favorite examples and post them here, but as it turned out I hit the Top Ten before I ever got through the "E" section. I'm including them here, and will continue through the alphabet -- highlighting more favorites in the days to come. (To my surprise, I noted a few inconsistencies in Bill's text -- copy editing errors, no doubt -- but there is some funky stuff too. I Googled him to try to find an email address so I could ask about these oddities, but there's no easy access to Bill. Even so, his stuff is good enough that it's worth sharing.)

awoke, awaked, awakened. Two common problems are worth noting:
1. Awoken, though much used, is generally considered not standard. Thus this sentence from an Agatha Christie novel (cited by Partridge) is wrong: "I was awoken by that rather flashy young woman." Make it awakened.
2. As a past participle, awaked is preferable to awoke. Thus, "He had awaked at midnight" and not "He had awoke at midnight." But if ever in doubt about the past tense, you will never be wrong if you use awakened." *This is my first point of confusion. Why was no comma placed after the first use of "Thus" but not the second?

barbecue. The only acceptable spelling in serious writing. *I see this spelled wrong everywhere, including the sign down the street at "The Barbeque Store."

bated breath. Not baited. Bated is a cousin of abated and so implies something that is withheld.

between you and I. Always wrong. Make it "between you and me."

biathlon. For the sport in which competitors ski across country and shoot set targets. *I was happy to see this item included. To Bryson's comments I will add: biathlon and triathlon have three syllables, not four. Often I hear "bi-ath-a-lon."

caesar salad. Not capped. *Huh? Why? This was a surprise.

Champagne. Region of France, formally Champagne-Ardenne; the wine is champagne (no cap). *Also a surprise.

Del Toro, Benicio. (1967 -- ) Puerto Rican actor. *I think this is a mistake. Shouldn't it be "Puerto Rican-born American actor"?

disinterested, uninterested. The first means neutral, the second not caring. A disinterested person is one who has no stake in the outcome of an event; an uninterested person is one who doesn't care. *This error is made all the time, as is the misuse of infer/imply.

Eszterhas, Joe. (1944 --) Hungarian-born American screenwriter. *Bill is right on this one.

More coming soon!