The Describer's Dictionary: A Treasury of Terms & Literary Quotations - Softcover

Grambs, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393312658 ISBN 13: 9780393312652

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995

Synopsis

Have you ever found yourself grasping in vain for that ideal descriptive word lost somewhere within the misty recesses of your vocabulary? Or felt frustrated that an oddly shaped structure or pretty setting you wished to portray in writing didn't quite translate clearly to paper?

If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then The Describer's Dictionary is exactly the book you need. Open it, and you have not only just the right words but―bringing them to life―stellar literary examples of descriptive writing as well.

The Dictionary concern itself with the observable, from shapes to buildings to human beings. "Referably" organized, the book uses a handy reverse, definition-to-term format that makes it easy to zero in on the term you're seeking. For example, look up "Noses" to find "aquiline," "leptorrhine," and "snub-nosed." And as an inspiration to any writer―showing how it's done by the best―hundreds of colorful and evocative descriptive passages from such diverse authors as Dickens, Darwin, and Updike appear on facing pages, making this a singularly and richly different kind of reference book.

The craft of description lives in literature, conversation, journalism, and personal letters. For help in painting pictures with the English language, The Desciber's Dictionary is one of the most indispensable reference tools you can own.

About this title

About the Author:

David Grambs has worked as a lexicographer, editor, travel reporter, and translator. He is the author of five other books pertaining to the English language, including The Endangered English Dictionary, and is coauthor of So You Think You Can Spell? with Ellen S. Levine.

Review:

“Offer[s] hours of fun and useful words.... Valuable to writers, readers, and those stuck for a word or phrase to spice up a letter or diary entry.”
- Digby Diehl

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0393312658
• ISBN 13: 9780393312652
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416