This volume opens with an examination of the decay that the English language has suffered over the past century and explains the origin and remedy of its two chief menaces: ambiguity and cacophony. The second part of the book illustrates the manner in which speakers and writers misuse language. Chapters include "The Prodigal Vocabulary,""The Perils of the Compound Noun,""The Ruins of Our Auxiliary Verbs,""The Four Wickedest Idioms," and "Standard Accepted Jargon." Later chapters explore the "delicate subjects," style and taste. (KS)