Customer Reviews

Roget's Thesaurus of Phrases

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This book is supposed to help avoid cliches and repetition. A wonderful idea--how many times have you wished to find a different way to say the same old phrase? Unfortunately, Roget's Thesaurus of Phrases isn't very helpful.

The phrases listed are, for the most part, not phrases I have difficulty replacing. Honestly--"microwave oven"? "space being"? "business school"? More phrases like "bury the hatchet" or "writing on the wall" would have been better choices. Moreover, many phrases one might wish to find synonyms for, such as "take to heart" or "throw something in another's face", were not included. In fact, the percentage of genuinely overused phrases is really quite small.

The word "phrase" is somewhat misleading as far as this book is concerned. Most of the phrases included are limited to two-word combinations, and a number of entries are merely hyphenated words. Even "e-mail" is included! In addition (another phrase that is not included), the "synonyms" vary greatly in quality and are often not really synonyms at all. For example, under "Romance language", the following words are included: French, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish. Yes, these are Romance languages, but they are not synonyms for the phrase "Romance language". "First draft" and "diamond in the rough" are rarely used in synonymous ways. And isn't "diamond in the rough" itself an overused phrase?

Another problem with the book is its layout. Unless you're thinking of the same phrase that the author used as an entry, you'll never find what you're looking for. Many of the words used in the listing are not also used as entry words. You have to think of the right entry word to even look for other possibilities!

The only valuable segment of the book is the addendum, Phrase Maker, and even it is limited. This section lists a number of nouns that can be used with two or more adjectives that follow. It would be a handy reference if the rest of the book merited purchase. As it is, you're better off with a good, solid standard thesaurus, one that includes synonymous phrases.

Have you ever been writing and desperately needed another idea for a two-word or longer phrase? Have you consulted your thesaurus and found nothing that matched? If so, this clever thesaurus of phrases is for you.

Some of the thesaurus phrases are fairly technical or formal; for example, Einstein's Theory of Relativity can also be described as the "principle of equivalence" and Darwin's natural selection can be called the "law of the jungle." However, most of the phrases are more colloquial in nature; for example, look up "down-and-out" and you'll find clever substitutes, such as "in the poorhouse" and "on the skids." In addition, a short "phrase maker" section is included at the end of the thesaurus, which provides words that can be paired together. For example, look up "information" and the phrase maker suggests "confidential" or "classified" as modifiers.

This thesaurus is likely to be useful for most any writer, whether your writing is creative or more technical. The only debit is that phrases are not cross-listed, so "in the poorhouse" is not an entry; one has to divine the correct listing for the book to be useful. This problem, however, is a minor inconvenience compared to the likely use writers of all sorts will derive. Highly recommended.

If you're looking for something to peruse on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and you're a lover of words, this is a terrific book. But as other reviewers have noted, it has limited usage value.

This isn't likely to help you improve your writing, but it is likely to help you enjoy language.

I think it needed a little better cross-referencing capabilities. I had a specific word I was working with and needed phrases to go with that word. You can't look up most single words. There is no listing.

I can pick this book up and thumb through it and literally unplog any bloch which is threatening to clog up my writing process. Gratefully, resource books such as this come along which speak to my "wanting to be only the most organized, beautifully spoen" indifividual.

As a writer, it helps me narrow down and focus the word selection when I am frequently getting tangled up in the words and prases when it oulc be said so easily.

Some of the phrases I enjoyed and was surprised to find: "The Bird" meaning "the finger".... and Method acting meaning "character acting, play acting, playacting."

In the back there is a secontion called "Phrase Maker" which is really very cool. I suggest you spend some time there: after all you may be able to think up something brand new, something you might never have thought of before.

This item was in even better condition than advertised and was mailed in a very timely fashion.