Institutes of English Grammar Book

This dictionary is not in competition with the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. The words are not followed by phonetic renderings or definitions of grammatical function. No, this is a volume "giving reliable guidance on problematic words, names etc, stylistic conventions and usage." Professional writers and editors are the intended readership and they can be confident of producing work that will stand close inspection.
As with a normal dictionary, entries are single words or phrases, listed in A - Z order. The notes concentrate on any problems that word may create for the editor. For example, the word 'decades' instructs us to "use 1820s, 1960s, etc., without apostrophe. Century digits may be replaced by apostrophe (e.g. during the '40s and '50s) in less formal contexts, or the shortened number may be spelt out, especially in names, which may have capital initials (e.g. the Roaring Twenties)."
Among the categories covered by the book are: misspellings, acronyms, homophones, sensitive terms and trademarks. Personally, I found the advice on hyphens (provided under the word itself) invaluable in preparing text for printing. The Appendices list proofreading marks, scientific symbols, transliteration of other alphabets, the Beaufort scale - it measures the force of the wind - and, finally, diacritical marks used in European languages.
Definitely one for the reference shelf.