Viz

Gendy asks:

I have a grammar/style question: When do you use "i.e." versus "e.g." versus "viz"? I'm betting that only Craig knows the answer to this question, and that Derek will pretend to know, but won't really know.


The Other Style Council responds:

My pretend-to-know answer is that i.e. means "that is" and e.g. means "for example." The distinction is that i.e. is used to offer a single synonym or definition, whereas e.g. is followed by a list.

Viz is the pompous version of both, and it stands for "videlicit." Kooky audio pronunciations here:

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=videlicet&x=15&y=15