Flip Dictionary [Paperback]

Barbara Ann Kipfer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

You know what you want to say but can't think of the word. You can describe what you're thinking but you don't know the name for it. Flip Dictionary solves this common problem! Best-selling author Barbara Ann Kipfer has created a huge reference that offers cues and clue words to lead writers to the exact phrase or specific term they need. It goes beyond the standard reverse dictionary format to offer dozens of charts and tables, listing groups by subject (such as automobiles, clothing types, plants, tools, etc.) Flip Dictionary is an excellent resource for everyone. Writers of fiction and non-fiction will use it to find that elusive word they need, and word lovers will find it an entertaining book to simply sit and browse through. Crossword puzzlers will also find it invaluable. An indispensable desk reference, as necessary as a dictionary or thesaurus, but a whole lot more fun.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barbara Ann Kipfer is the author of numerous reference books, including The Order of Things and The At-a-Glance Spelling Dictionary. She is best known as the author of 14,000 Things to Be Happy About.

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books; 2 edition (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582971404
• ISBN-13: 978-1582971407
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Synonyms & Antonyms

More About the Author

www.thingstobehappyabout.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and functional June 28, 2003

By Peggy Vincent

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Hard to describe how useful this book is. Tell people about it, and they're likely to say, 'Oh, you mean a thesaurus,' and you say, 'No, not exactly,' and then they say, 'Oh, a reverse dictionary?' and you say, 'No. Better.' It's for those times when you sort of know what you're trying to say, but you either can't think of the word or you've used a word too much and you need to jiggle loose from your cranium some new ways of trying to say it. And it leads you on and on down an ever branching set of references so pretty soon you find yourself just sitting down and reading the Flip Dictionary instead of writing. It's that much fun.
An invaluable resource, recommended to me by a fellow writer.

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Spellers-Ain't-Us March 13, 2005

By Naweko San-Joyz

Format:Paperback

I've owned Roget's Descriptive Word Finder for almost a year. I've had Flip Dictionary for just a month and it is already more ragged than my Roget from usage. A thesaurus like Roget's is great for nouns and adjectives, but Flip Dictionary covers every noun, verb and preposition that thesauruses typically overlook.

I bought Flip Dictionary, FD, to keep my writing fresh and unpredictable and that's precisely what it does. Maybe you're like myself and have exhausted the usefulness of your word processor's thesaurus, get the Flip Dictionary. Honestly, I flip through this book just for fun.

Here's a big bonus: Flip Dictionary saves horrid spellers like myself. For example, you may know what a word means and how it sounds, but you can't spell it, and spell check is no help either. Here's how Flip Dictionary solves this problem. Say I wanted to use the word that sounds like "crawlch", which means to bend over, and I have no idea how to properly spell "crawlch". But I've heard this word used several times and I know it's a real word.

I just flip to "bend" in the Flip Dictionary, and wouldn't you know it, the reference for bend refers to "crouch" the real way to spell "crawlch". That saved me a lot of time and I'll use FD for the same problems in the future.

Mark Twain tells us the there's a colossal difference between the right word and a word that just fits. Perhaps Mr. Twain did not use a Flip Dictionary but I imagined if he were around today, he'd write, "Buy it".

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Fun April 25, 2004

By Simeon Hein

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Flip Dictionary contains all sorts of word alternatives for words and word ideas. When you are writing, and you keep using the same word over and over, or can't express a word clearly, this is the book to turn to. In addition to being an indispensable writing resource, it is a lot of fun to read if you are a word lover. The Flip Dictionary also contains many interesting sidebars for words with many derivatives and alternate possibilites. I keep it on my desk at all times.
(Dr. Simeon Hein is the author of Opening Minds: A Journey of Extraordinary Encounters, Crop Circles, and Resonance (Mount Baldy Press, Inc., (2002))