As a practical guide to correct grammar and word choice, The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style makes an excellent addition to the reference shelf of any high school or college student, and those who write professionally will get plenty of use out of it as well. Words are arranged alphabetically, and thorough cross-referencing makes it fairly easy to track down specific answers, from the plural of “rhinoceros” to when “due to” is an acceptable phrase. | 38 belly the other The night float began in most New York State hospitals as a grueling rite of passage ended. Begun would be right. Commas or dashes should precede it and follow passage to set off the explanatory matter. By the way night float was a thirty-six-hour shift for new doctors. BELLY. See STOMACH. BEMUSE BEMUSED. Some writers confuse bemuse with amuse. The meanings of the two words are not at all similar now although they once were. The -muse part of each can be traced to the Medieval Latin word for snout musum. Bemuse verb transitive means 1 to daze or muddle someone or 2 to cause one to muse or be deep in thought. It may take the form of bemused past tense and past participle and bemusing present participle . Examples He blamed the alcohol for bemusing his head. Bemused by his equations the professor paid no heed to the bell. Amuse verb transitive now means to entertain or appeal to one s sense of humor. At one time it meant to beguile or bemuse. An autobiography describes a general s reaction to a barroom brawl. Gunfighter must have noticed that several of his officers sported shiners bruises and puffed lips. He said nothing. But I detected on his seamed face a bemused smile. Could it have been an amused smile Another book of recollections tells of a motor trip in Africa. To get fuel to cross the Sahara the author willingly detoured for several days. I thought bemused of the times in my pre-Africa life I had fumed and ranted over late planes and traffic jams. Was he really so deep in thought or just amused by the thought In a similar book another author recalls a visit to an oil company s camp in the Sahara during a choking dust storm. The Europeans working there asked whether we would like showers and then some lunch. Such questions were almost bemusing after weeks in the desert. Later he describes the privation after weeks of desert travel and adds Then there is a town and the abundance of everything is almost bemusing. Bemusing fits neither .
