The Elephants of Style : A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English [Paperback]

Bill Walsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2004

Advice on good writing from everybody's favorite editorial curmudgeon

Persnickety, cantankerous, opinionated, entertaining, hilarious, wise...these are a few of the adjectives reviewers used to describe good-writing maven Bill Walsh's previous book, Lapsing Into a Comma. Now, picking up where he left off in Lapsing, Walsh addresses the dozen or so biggest issues that every writer or editor must master. He also offers a trunkload of good advice on the many little things that add up to good writing. Featuring all the elements that made Lapsing such a fun read, including Walsh's trademark acerbic wit and fascinating digressions on language and its discontents, The Elephants of Style provides:

• Tips on how to tame the "elephants of style"--the most important, frequently confused elements of good writing
• More of Walsh's popular "Curmudgeon's Stylebook"--includes entries such as Snarky Specificity, Metaphors, Near and Far, Actually is the New Like, and other uses and misuses of language
• Expert advice for writers and editors on how to work together for best results

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What Walsh calls his 'curmudgeon's stylebook' contains such useful items as differentiating names of peoples ...His 'gray areas' are stimulating." -- William Safire, On Language, New York Times Magazine

From the Back Cover

A thorough, and thoroughly entertaining, guide to writing like the pros

What do writers and editors mean when they talk about style? Sometimes they mean formatting for consistency and clarity. (Is it Texas or Tex. or TX? One space or two after a period?) Sometimes they mean correctness in spelling, grammar, word usage and punctuation. (A historic or an historic? The data is or the data are?) And sometimes they mean style as in stylishness. (Bright and breezy or just-the-facts-ma'am? Is that cute little idea fresh and original or tired and silly?) Inside, you'll find answers that will add polish and sparkle to your writing.

In the word-nerd classic Lapsing Into a Comma, Bill Walsh of the Washington Post entertained, educated and enlightened writers, editors, students and language lovers with commonsense guidelines and opinionated commentary on American English in the computer age. In The Elephants of Style he takes a step back and presents an in-depth look at the basics, including spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, subject-verb agreement, plurals and possessives.

With sometimes acerbic wit, the author also addresses:

• The lies your English teacher told you.
• Balancing the traditional ("Once wrong, always wrong") with the progressive ("Everybody does it") as language continues to evolve.
• How and why major publications differ in their handling of basic spelling, capitalization and punctuation issues.
• How empathy between writers and editors can make writing better.

The Elephants of Style includes a continuation of The Curmudgeon's Stylebook, Walsh's A-to-Z glossary of style matters big and small, guaranteed to address questions that no other usage manuals cover. Is Starbucks a coffee shop? Is it porn or porno?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (March 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071422684
• ISBN-13: 978-0071422680
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of "Lapsing Into a Comma" and "The Elephants of Style" and a copy editor at The Washington Post.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who left me out of the Grammar can now be amusing loop ?!, March 27, 2004

By 

Julie Jordan Scott "Writer, Life Coach - Owne... (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Elephants of Style : A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English (Paperback)

I found myself laughing out loud as I read Bill Walsh's "The Elephant's of Style."

Reminiscent of "Woe is I" this title actually entertains as it enlightens. Some of Walsh's best lines were "Split infinitives are the chicken cacciatore of the English Language" and "Who died and left me in charge of the English language?"

I want to know where Bill Walsh was when I was being drilled in grammar back in school! First they started teaching kids phonics and blends using fun songs and hand motions and now this?! I missed out on all the fun!

I especially enjoyed the section entitled "The Lies Your English Teacher Told You: Big Myths of English Usage" (I actually wiped my brow at one point in that chapter.) His appendix, "The Curmudgeon's Stylebook" is a valuable addition as well.

Wonderful stuff, easy to remember and apply.... Excellent for those who got stuck in the "grammar rules" and "strict critiques" from the past.... Free up the negative through process and just get through to the mechanics in this user friendly guide. The index will take you straight to your area of interest and then read the rest just `cause its so darn fun...... oh, I wonder if it's against the rules to insert periods in a row like that?

Better refer to my copy of "Elephants of Style" now.....

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grammar with a funny bone, March 10, 2006

By 

Danielle N. Swanson "Diva Reader" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Elephants of Style : A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English (Paperback)

Almost nothing is as boring as learning the rules of grammar.
The Elephants of Style, however, makes the subject humorous and easier to both read and learn about. The author uses great(and often funny ) examples to teach students about everything from parts of speech to plagarism. I would recommend this book to college freshman, English teachers, or anyone struggling with grammar.
Of course, grammar may never lose the title of "boringest of them all," but at least there is a little humor at the end of the tunnel.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars for the serious writer, October 4, 2009

By 

C. E. Selby "Eric Selby" (Miami Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Elephants of Style : A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English (Paperback)

I thought this might be similar to Patricia O'Conner's wonder Woe Is I which I use with my college writing students. But it is not. It is really more like an easier-to-approach Chicago Manual of Style. In other words for those who get easily intimidated by the Chicago style manual, this is much more "user friendly." And, like Dr. O'Conner, the author does not fall into the traps of absolutely ridiculous rules that are perpetuated by so many writing teachers and so many textbooks. For example, he takes to task those who say one can never begin a sentence with "and" or "but." And all those other ridiculous rules that no good writer adheres to. It is a great book. Highly recommended.