This file is an excerpt from the September 1997 version of Mark Israel's AUE FAQ.
The file was re-generated 19 November 2000 09:55 GMT with URLs updated where necessary and if possible.
To see the full AUE FAQ, click here.

Table of Contents
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[Prefatory remarks]
Welcome to alt.usage.english!
    guidelines for posting
    related newsgroups
recommended books
    dictionaries
    online dictionaries
    general reference
    grammars
    books on linguistics
    books on usage
    online usage guides
    online language columns
    books that discriminate synonyms
    style manuals
    books on mathematical exposition
    books on phrasal verbs
    books on phrase origins
    books on Britishisms, Canadianisms, etc.
    books on "bias-free"/"politically correct" language
    books on group names
    books on rhyming slang
artificial dialects
    Basic English
    E-prime
pronunciation
    how to represent pronunciation in ASCII
    rhotic vs non-rhotic, intrusive "r"
    How do Americans pronounce "dog"?
    words pronounced differently according to context
    words whose spelling has influenced their pronunciation
usage disputes
    "acronym"
    "all ... not"
    "alot"
    "alright"
    "between you and I"
    "company is" vs "company are"
    "could care less"
    "could of"
    "different to", "different than"
    "done"="finished"
    double "is"
    "due to"
    "functionality"
    gender-neutral pronouns
    "God rest you merry, gentlemen"
    "hopefully", "thankfully"
    "if I was" vs "if I were"
    "impact"="to affect"
    "It needs cleaned"
    "It's me" vs "it is I"
    "less" vs "fewer"
    "like" vs "as"
    "like" vs "such as"
    "more/most/very unique"
    "mouses" vs "mice"
    "near miss"
    "none is" vs "none are"
    plurals
        plurals of Latin and Greek words
        plurals => English singulars
    preposition at end
    "quality"
    repeated words after abbreviations
    "Scotch"
    "shall" vs "will", "would" vs "should"
    split infinitive
    "that" vs "which"
    "that kind of a thing"
    the the hoi polloi debate
    "true fact"
    "try and", "be sure and", "go" + verb
    "whom"
    "you saying" vs "your saying"
punctuation
    "." after abbreviations
    spaces between sentences
    ," vs ",
    "A, B and C" vs "A, B, and C"
foreigners' FAQs
    "a"/"an" before abbreviations
    "A number of..."
    when to use "the"
    subjunctive
word origins
    "A.D."
    "alumin(i)um"
    "bloody"
    "bug"="defect"
    "Caesarean section"
    "canola"
    "catch-22"
    "cop"
    "copacetic"
    "crap"
    "ebonics"
    "eighty-six"="nix"
    "Eskimo"
    "flammable"
    "freeway"
    "fuck"
    "golf"
    "hooker"
    "ISO"
    "jerry-built"/"jury-rigged"
    "kangaroo"
    "limerence"
    "loo"
    "love"="zero"
    "merkin"
    "nimrod"
    "O.K."
    "outrage"
    "paparazzo"
    "pie-shaped"
    "portmanteau word"
    "posh"
    "quiz"
    "Santa Ana"
    "scot-free"
    "sincere"
    "sirloin"/"baron of beef"
    "SOS"
    "spoonerism"
    "suck"="be very unsatisfying"
    "till"/"until"
    "tip"
    "titsling"/"brassiere"
    "troll"
    "typo"
    "Wicca"
    "widget"
    "wog"
    "wonk"
    "wop"
    "ye"="the"
phrase origins
    "the bee's knees"
    "beg the question"
    "billions and billions"
    "blue moon"
    "Bob's your uncle"
    "break a leg"
    "to call a spade a spade"
    "cut the mustard"
    "cut to the chase"
    "The die is cast"
    "dressed to the nines"
    "Elementary, my dear Watson!"
    "Enquiring minds want to know"
    "The exception proves the rule"
    "face the music"
    "fall off a turnip truck"
    "full monty"
    "Get the lead out"
    "Go figure"
    "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste" (Desiderata)
    "go to hell in a handbasket"
    "hell for leather"
    "hoist with his own petard"
    "by hook or by crook"
    "Illegitimis non carborundum"
    "in like Flynn"
    "Jingle Bells"
    "Let them eat cake"
    "mind your p's and q's"
    "more honoured in the breach than the observance"
    "more than you can shake a stick at"
    "ollie ollie oxen free"
    "peter out"
    "politically correct"
    "push the envelope"
    "put in one's two cents' worth"
    "rule of thumb"
    "shouting fire in a crowded theater"
    "son of a gun"
    "spitting image"/"spit and image"
    "There's a sucker born every minute"
    "to all intents and purposes"
    "wait for the other shoe to drop"
    "Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
    "whole cloth"
    "the whole nine yards"
    "You have another think coming"
words frequently sought
    words ending in "-gry"
    words without vowels
    list of language terms
    "I won't mention..."
    names of "&", "@", and "#"
    "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
    "Take the prisoner downstairs", said Tom condescendingly.
    What is the opposite of "to exceed"?
    What is the opposite of "distaff side"?
    grass strip between road and sidewalk
miscellany
    What is a suggested format for citing online sources?
    Does the next millennium begin in 2000 or 2001?
    What will we call the next decade?
    Fumblerules ("Don't use no double negatives", etc.)
    English is Tough Stuff
    What is the phone number of the Grammar Hotline?
    deliberate mistakes in dictionaries
    How reliable are dictionaries?
    etymologies of personal names
    How did "Truly" become a personal name?
    trademarks
    commonest words
    Why do we say "30 years old" but "a 30-year-old man"?
    What words are their own antonym?
    sentences grammatical in both Old English and Modern English
    radio alphabets
    distribution of English-speakers
    provenance of English vocabulary
    "billion":  a U.K. view
    Biblical sense of "to know"
    postfix "not"
    origin of the dollar sign
spelling
    spelling reform
    joke about step-by-step spelling reform
    What is "ghoti"?
    I before E except after C
    How do you spell "e-mail"?
    Why is "I" capitalized?
    diacritics
    "-er" vs "-re"
    "-ize" vs "-ise"
    doubling of final consonants before suffixes
    possessive apostrophes