I love a good style manual. I’m particularly fond of my Chicago Manual of Style, but I also have AP, MLA, and Strunk & White by my desk. Oh, and I just added a Bluebook and the ALWD. So check out The Economist’s Style Guide. (Thanks, Ernie!)

It’s chock full of good advice, although as an American, I take umbrage with several of their guidelines against Americanisms. For example:

“Gubernatorial is an ugly word that can almost always be avoided.”

Gubernatorial is a fantastic word! It conjures up images of George Lindsey and Jim Nabors. And if you follow American governors, I think any word with “Goober” in it might be frighteningly accurate.

“Do not feel obliged to follow American fashion in overusing such words as constituency (try supporters)”

Actually, this is just wrong. The preferred definition (from the OED, not to mention Webster!) is “a body of constituents, the body of voters who elect a representative member of a legislative or other public body; in looser use, the whole body of residents in the district or place represented by such a member, or the place or district itself considered in reference to its representation.”

Believe me, I am the constituent of many representatives who do not enjoy my “support”.

“The military, used as a noun, is nearly always better put as the army.”

Veterans of the United States Navy, Marines, and Air Force would probably take issue with that. I realize there is a difference between “army” and “Army” but replacing “military” with “army” in America invites confusion.

“They rest from their labours at weekends, not on them”

No, we definitely rest from our labors on weekends. I was married on October 26th, not at October 26th. On weekends, Americans might go have drinks at a bar, or go out to see a movie at at a theater. But mostly we sit on our butts watching TV shows.