How nerdy is it that I just bought a 25+ year old edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary to add to my library? This is the 4th Edition, first published in ‘93, the year I graduated college. The current edition is the 6th, and it would cost 3 times the price I paid for this one (that edition is still on my Amazon wishlist, by the way; I’ll add it at some point). For those who don’t know, this is the abridged version of the 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary. I’d really like the full OED, but can’t quite justify dropping $1,200+ on a dictionary.
Any book/word nerds who will appreciate this purchase?
- missF
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Re: Any book/word nerds who will appreciate this purchase?
I was just thinking recently how outdated my dictionary must be (have just checked and it’s from 2006...), but also how much I love it as an object and a functioning thing. Online dictionaries don’t have the same attraction.
When I’m writing poetry I have my dictionary, thesaurus and rhyming dictionary on the table. I usually use my dictionary for relatively straightforward words, but words where I’m not sure if I’m using that word with exactly the right nuance.
On thinking about it, when I’m writing poetry I do become a total word nerd or even a word fiend. As my writing class friend told me a long time ago ‘novelists agonise over paragraphs or chapters; poets agonise over single words’
When I’m writing poetry I have my dictionary, thesaurus and rhyming dictionary on the table. I usually use my dictionary for relatively straightforward words, but words where I’m not sure if I’m using that word with exactly the right nuance.
On thinking about it, when I’m writing poetry I do become a total word nerd or even a word fiend. As my writing class friend told me a long time ago ‘novelists agonise over paragraphs or chapters; poets agonise over single words’
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
Watchaholic
‘Imprudently spendy’
Thomcat00
Watchaholic
‘Imprudently spendy’
Thomcat00
- jkbarnes
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Re: Any book/word nerds who will appreciate this purchase?
When I was a kid and my dad was teaching English at the Air Force Academy, he brought home a collegiate dictionary from the English department for my brother and me (a Websters, I think?). I was fascinated by it and would spend hours just flipping through looking up words rather than do my homework. I loved that dictionary and it’s super thin pages.
What excites me about this one is having the extensive word etymologies and quotations. I know it’s an older addition, but it’s more than fir for purpose for my needs. I think being from ‘93 is what sealed the deal.
Drew
- missF
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Re: Any book/word nerds who will appreciate this purchase?
I chose a Penguin dictionary rather than the Oxford English Dictionary because the OED had started using blue highlights, to great fanfare. I hated it - I prefer my pages only black and white! It’s a bit like having the ‘wrong’ date wheel colour - details matter!
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
Watchaholic
‘Imprudently spendy’
Thomcat00
Watchaholic
‘Imprudently spendy’
Thomcat00
- jkbarnes
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Re: Any book/word nerds who will appreciate this purchase?
Details do indeed matter!missF wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 10:10 pm I chose a Penguin dictionary rather than the Oxford English Dictionary because the OED had started using blue highlights, to great fanfare. I hated it - I prefer my pages only black and white! It’s a bit like having the ‘wrong’ date wheel colour - details matter!
And I forgot to mention, I loved your comment about poets agonizing over words the way writers agonize over paragraphs. It’s only as I’ve gotten older that I’ve come to appreciate poetry. I love how a sparse collection of words (as compared to a novel) can move me so much.
Drew
- jkbarnes
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Re: Any book/word nerds who will appreciate this purchase?
Haha! I just had to cancel my order for this. My wife saw the post on Instagram and informed me she got the current edition for me for my birthday!
Drew
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