- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Collins Reference (May 29 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0062701908
- ISBN-13: 978-0062701909
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.7 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#460,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #42 in Books > Nonfiction > Education > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauri > English (Canadian)
- #47 in Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > English (Canadian)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate, Eugene Ehrlich pulls no punches about his intent. This book and its companion, The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate, are prescriptive rather than descriptive, dedicated to recording language as it should be rather than how it often is. In the preface, Ehrlich announces that he means his book to be an "antidote" to the "effects wrought by the forces of linguistic darkness"--meaning, of course, all lexicographers more permissive than he is. That said, Ehrlich's conservative approach handily disposes of many thorny usage problems. The entry for "effectual," for example, distinguishes between "effective" and "effectual" in a concise and utterly persuasive way: "...a law that is effective--operative, in effect--becomes effectual--answers its purpose--only when the law is enforced."
This is not your ordinary dictionary; Ehrlich thinks that defining everyday words with commonly accepted meanings is a massive waste of time. Instead, he concentrates on unusual words or those that present interesting problems. The result is a fascinating dictionary that can be read cover to cover, like a book; do so and your vocabulary may never be the same again.
Book Description
Between TV talk shows, radio call-in programs, email and the Internet, spontaneous-talk media has skyrocketed in the '90s. People are interacting more frequently and more fervently than ever before, turning the English language into an indecipherable mess. Now, this unique and concise compendium presents the most confused and misused words in the language today -- words misused by careless speakers and writers everywhere.It defines, discerns and distinguishes the finer points of sense and meaning. Was it fortuitous or only fortunate? Are you trying to remember, or more fully recollect? Is he uninterested or disinterested? Is it healthful or healthy, regretful or regrettable, notorious or infamous? The answers to these and many more fascinating etymological questions can be found within the pages of this invaluable (or is it valuable?) reference.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Unique and Useful Compilation for College Students,
By
This review is from: Highly Selective Dictionary For The Extraordinarily Literate The (Hardcover)
Sometimes it is wise not to judge a book by its title. I suggest that you ignore the elitist title and concentrate on its contents. The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinary Literate is a useful compilation, a helpful tool for college students.Eugene Ehrlich offers only those words that you are likely to reference in a dictionary. Simple words are not listed. For example, none of the words that I used in this review can be found in his selective dictionary. Likewise, those 500,000 words in the English language that are rarely used are not included in this book. Ehrlich's words inhabit a borderland separating those words we already know and those words that we will never need to know. Did he get it right? Well, it depends on the geographic position of your particular borderland. I offer you some empirical data. I am reading for the first time The Way of the World, an early eighteenth century play by William Congreve. I found only two troublesome words (billingsgate and nonpariel) in the editor's 12-page introduction. Ehrlich provided clear, concise definitions for both words. Previously I reviewed a rather scholarly work, The Odes of John Keats, by Helen Vendler, a respected literature professor at Harvard. I scanned a random chapter (Ode to a Nightingale, 32 pages) and found synecdoche, antiphonal, discarnate, mimetic, solipsistic, and efficacious. Only the words antiphonal and discarnate were not in Ehrlich's dictionary. I looked at random pages in Ehrlich's dictionary, tested myself, and concluded that for about one-fourth of the entries I would have trouble offering an acceptable definition, even with some help from contextual clues. I listed below three typical pages from Ehrlich's dictionary: We find on page 67 the words existentialism, exoteric (do not confuse with esoteric), expatiate, expiate, explicate, and expostulate, and on page 111 is mimesis (and mimetic), minatory, misanthrope, miscegenation, miscreant, misogamy, misogyny, misprision, and mitigate (sometimes confused with militate), and lastly on page 164 there is sophistry, soporific, sororicide, soubrette, soupcon, specious, splenetic, spoonerism, and squash (as contrasted with quash). I originally bought this dictionary to help my daughter prepare for the GRE. Having devoted some time to browsing this fascinating compilation, I now hope that she will not forget to return Ehrlich's dictionary to me.
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Book Without A Purpose,
By
This review is from: Highly Selective Dictionary For The Extraordinarily Literate The (Hardcover)
This "dictionary" is so "highly selective" that it is not all that useful as a reference. If you encounter a word you want to look up, your chance of finding it in this dictionary is near zero.It should be more appropriately named as a collection of certain less frequently used words. If you read this book from cover to cover, you will probably find that you know many of the words already and, of the ones you don't know, you may retain a few of them. Well, I am probably not "extraordinarily literate."
5.0 out of 5 stars
A grammar guide is also required.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Highly Selective Dictionary For The Extraordinarily Literate The (Hardcover)
Readers beware! You will not write more effectually after reading this book. One reviewer used "between" where "among" was needed, and another misused an apostrophe in "its."
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