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From: bob@cadovax.UUCP (Bob "Kat" Kaplan)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Dictionaries
Message-ID: <392@cadovax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Feb-85 13:12:32 EST
Article-I.D.: cadovax.392
Posted: Wed Feb  6 13:12:32 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Feb-85 03:08:51 EST
Organization: Contel Cado, Torrance, CA
Lines: 46

> > One "feature" of the dictionary is that the index inserts (so you can
> > turn directly to the "H"'s) do not begin where the corresponding letters
> > begin.  

>    I actually have two copies of the American Heritage, one with the
>    thumb-index correctly placed and one askew as you describe.  I
>    think it's a bug, not a feature.

The Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary also has oddly placed thumb
indeces, which I find extremely annoying, especially since this is an
otherwise great dictionary. I think a non-indexed version is also available,
and I would highly recommend either version to anyone with an interest in
the American Language circa 1984. I really like this dictionary a lot.

While I'm on the subject, I'd like to criticize two other dictionaries that
I've had. I got them both in the mail from places like the Book of the Month
Club and Publishers' Clearing House. Never buy a dictionary without looking
through it first!

The Oxford American Dictionary is one of the worst I've ever seen. It
doesn't even give any etymology for the entries. It's also fairly
incomplete--a lot of words just aren't there. For the words that are
included, the definitions are sometimes not very good.

There's another dictionary called Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of
the English Language, or something like that. It has a fake leather cover
and gold leaf stamping, which is supposed to look good, but doesn't.
It's one of those "Was $69.95 - Now $15.95" things the Publishers'
Clearing House has been offering for years.  This book is not published
by Merriam-Webster, or any other reputable publishing company. The
definitions in this dictionary are so obscure, especially for "sensitive"
words like "rape" where they go out of their way to avoid letting you know
that the term has anything to do with sexual intercourse. I happened across
the entry for "Lesbian" (with a capital L) and the definition said something
like "the women inhabitants of the Greek island Lesbos." Period.

I still own the Oxford American Dictionary, but I never look at it. I decided
a few years ago to use the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language
as kindling for my fireplace. I tried burning it, and you know what? It 
didn't even burn very well, and the fake leather cover gave off a lot of
smoke and an awful smell.
-- 
Bob Kaplan	{ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!trwrba!cadovax!bob

"All the clouds turn to words.  All the words float in sequence.
 No one knows what they mean.  Everyone just ignores them."