A Dictionary of Modern English Usage is a guide to the rules of good written British English including British English usage, pronunciation, and writing. It covers topics such as plurals and literary technique, distinctions among like words (homonyms and synonyms), and the use of foreign terms. It was first published in 1926 and became one of the standard reference books on the English language for the correct use of English in terms of choice of words, grammar, and style. It gives comprehensive and practical advice on complex points of grammar, syntax, punctuation, style, and word choice. It is often referred to as Modern English Usage, or simply Fowler. Much loved for firm opinions, passion, and dry humour, Fowler has stood the test of time and is still considered the best arbiter of good practice. The book s general approach encourages a direct, vigorous writing style, and opposes all artificiality, by firmly advising against convoluted sentence construction, the use of foreign words and phrases, and the use of archaisms. It opposed pedantry and ridiculed artificial grammar rules unwarranted by natural English usage, such as bans on ending a sentence with a preposition, rules on the placement of the word only, and rules distinguishing between which and that . It classified and condemned every clich , in the course of which it coined and popularized the terms battered ornament, vogue words, and worn-out humour, while defending useful distinctions between words whose meanings were coalescing in practice, thereby guiding the speaker and the writer away from illogical sentence construction, and the misuse of words.