Wordmastery

Extract

To the making of wordbooks there is no end, and a recent addition to the long list is the Penguin Wordmaster Dictionary (1987), compiled by MARTIN H MANSER and NIGEL D TURTON (with a preface by DAVID CRYSTAL). Its publishers describe it as ‘a unique new dictionary which combines the elements of thesaurus, usage guide, lexicon and historical survey’. The PWD has 838 pages, and costs £4.95 in the UK, $12.95 in Canada, $16.95 in Australia, and $19.99 in New Zealand; there is no indication of how many words are covered. The three columns reproduced below show how the compilers have combined snappy, stripped-down definitions with boxed notes about usage and etymology. The PWD is an entertaining book, marred only by the quality of the paper used for the first edition.