This style guide is obviously intended for use by journalists at the Economist; however, I think anyone who wants to make his or her writing gooder will benefit from it. Among the guide's several sections is a section on common solecisms (grammatical mistakes). Here are a few examples: Apostasy and heresy . If you abandon your religion, you commit apostasy . If that religion is the prevailing one in your community, and your beliefs are contrary to its orthodoxy you commit heresy . Factoid : something that sounds like a fact, is thought by many to be a fact (perhaps because it is repeated so often), but is not in fact a fact. Only . Put only as close as you can to the words it qualifies. Thus, These animals mate only in June . To say They only mate in June implies that in June they do nothing else. Sensual means carnal or voluptuous . Sensuous means pertaining to aesthetic appreciation, without any implication of lasciviousness. [For all of you Animal House fans out ther