In this book, the author's major goal is to impart writing precision lessons. Precision is crucial for good writing, which is really just clear thinking in writing form. It is achieved by selecting a term that fully and accurately captures the writer's intention and by avoiding words that either imply or suggest something else. According to Quintilian, the writer should write in a way that the reader can't help but understand. An edition of Ambrose Bierce's famous manual of proper speech with annotations is presented by one of America's leading linguists. Although The Devil's Dictionary is what Ambrose Bierce is most known for, the prolific writer, humorist, and fabulist was also an expert in the proper language. Few words have more than one literal and useful meaning, despite the fact that lexicographers may think it worthwhile to collect as many metaphorical, derivative, linked, or even unrelated meanings from all types and conditions of men in order to inflate their ludicrous and misleading dictionaries. The author of this small manual of solecisms affirms this true and useful interpretation, which is not always established by derivation and infrequently by widespread usage.
