Customer Reviews

The Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Oxford Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus is an up-to-date, handy, clear reference book for one's reading table. I wanted a dictionary of American English. Success.

However, I wasted my money because of one problem: the font size is undersized (six-point maximum) to be practical if one's eyesight is less than 20/20 or you're over 50-years old. I'm going back to my 1978 Pocket Oxford Dictionary rather than strain my eyes; to the devil with words younger than 28-years old. Using a magnifying glass defeats two important objectives: convenience and portability.

This is a very good and thorough dictionary with quick reference in thesaurus. The paper quality is better than most of paperback dictionary. I ever bought American Heritage Dictionary-paperback and Webster-paperback in last few years and this Oxford dictionary is the best paper dictionary I ever got and the price is worth.

I use this dictionary daily and it is very valuable. Occasionally, I've run across words that aren't in it, but that's to be expected from a paperback.

Most combination references list the thesaurus entries separately at the bottom of the page. This book integrates the listings together, all the material on a word is found in one place.

This is the best compact reference I've ever used. It has greatly enhanced both my reading and writing.

My son took my dictionary with him when he moved to San Francisco. Since I needed another one, I decided to give this one a try. It is a great little dictionary for the money... very detailed and I can keep in in my handbag if needed.

S.B. Phoenix,AZ

I think this is one of the best and easiest thesauruses I have ever had. Not only does it have the definition but all the alternate words you can use are right behind it.
I think it's EXCELLENT!

...this text is the essential and definitive aid.
I have worked with other dictionaries and really the only publisher to come close is Penguin.
You cannot beat this for assistance in making English a craft and a pleasure.
The Oxford is of course linked to the publishing house of the great University, there is little wonder therefore that it is both essential and a world leader.

I am an extremely meticulous reader. I like to understand every single new word I see. Most readers are pretty lazy. They just assume the meanings of unrecognizable words in their context, and that's okay too, but I sometimes find this book to be indispensable when it comes to uh ... "nit-pickery." Hmm, I don't even think that's a real word. Looks like I need to pull out the old dictionary again. Heh, heh! Anyway, this book has other uses besides understanding what you read. It's a thesaurus as well as a dictionary, and if you ever want to just strut around being a verbose and pretentious jackass, this book is a great treasure trove of strange, obscure, and exotic synonyms for the most common and overly-used words. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I've gotten many a brainy girl in the sack thanks to this book (a lie). It also makes a nice paper-weight or doorstop, and when you've finally worn out your first copy, you can always buy a new one and use the old one for toilet paper. Ah, the simple things! See how much class I have since I got my copy of the OADDAT? Pat me on the back, damn you!

Bought about 10 of them for my co workers, last Xmas. Got tired of my copy always on "reference" somewhere in the hall, and me having to hunt it down.
Excellent business tool, always seems to give the perfect reference when you are crafting that all important email to the world.
Noticed after the first couple of weeks that they all had creases in them and were at ready reach to everyone's computer.

Great space saver of having two reference books a dictionary and thesaurus combined into one book.

This one ranks among the top three paperback dictionaries I've used. However, I think the reason that its number of words is limited is because this is also a thesaurus. I couldn't find the following words from Harry Potter: prat, skive(off), git, and chunter.