Readers, Digest This!

...because today I'm reviewing Reader's Digest's new book, The Reverse Dictionary.

Now, I bet you're wondering, what the heck is a Reverse Dictionary? Well, as the Editors put it, "The Reverse Dictionary is above all a word-finder. Its purpose is to identify the precise word fo an idea that may be in your mind but you cannot express."

This book is fantastic because it has, simply put, everything. Or at least, everything you can think of. Let's say you're writing a detective story. You know that every thief or villian has a specific method of operation: how he breaks into a house, how he usually disposes of a corpse, for instance. But what you cannot remember is what the technical word for it is. So, searching the Reverse Dictionary for the word "method" will give you the answer: Modius Operandi.

It also serves as a vocabulary builder. Say you are still writing that detective story, and one of the characters has a distinguishing characteristic. Maybe a phobia, for example. Under phobia, there is a chart, listing some phobias. Fear of old age is gerascophobia, fear of a name or particular word is onomatophobia, and fear of horses is hippophobia (which is a bit weird).

There are also helpful diagrams. Need to know how to tie a cat's paw knot? What is the pointy part of a brilliant full cut diamond called? What roof shapes are there? Where is the fore topgallant sail on a sailing ship? What does a fleury cross look like? The answers to all these can be found in the Reverse Dictionary.

Simply put, this book rocks! And have yourself, a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!