One interesting dictionary I recently came across is the New Dictionary of American Slang. Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D., a retired professor of English at Drew University, presents a dictionary compiled solely of slang terms and their definitions. The use of slang dates back at least 200 years and may shift through the years. Chapman’s book brings together words, phrases, and terms that would otherwise not be found in regular dictionaries. The dictionary is presented in a regular form which includes a main entry, definitions, parts of speech, pronunciations, and even slang synonyms. This book also has a unique system to represent words that have a strong social or emotional impact on society. This dictionary may come in handy to define current slang terms with which one is unfamiliar. This book should be restricted to children of elementary school age because of its possible racy subject terms and phrases and swear words.
Thesauri don’t really change over time, but Webster presents this new, easier to use, collegiate thesaurus. Webster’s Collegiate Thesaurus is more precise in its synonyms presented and more authoritative. Every entry in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary was examined to create this complete work which is a collection of synonyms, antonyms, phrases and idiomatic expressions. Each entry comes complete with a list of synonyms to use in its place, antonym, meaning core word, part of speech, plural label, related words, and subject headings. It is suggested to read the explanatory notes in the beginning to understand the scope, content, and structure of the book. Webster’s comprehensive text would be of use to any writer.
