The Describer's Dictionary: A Treasury of Terms & Literary Quotations (Paperback)

~ (Author) "His white mantle was shaped with severe regularity, according to the rule of St. Bernard himself, being composed of what was then called burrel cloth,..." (more)
Key Phrases: sea inlet, Native American, New England, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Have you ever found yourself grasping in vain for that ideal descriptive word lost somewhere within the misty recesses of your vocabulary? Or felt frustrated that an oddly shaped structure or pretty setting you wished to portray in writing didn't quite translate clearly to paper? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then The Describer's Dictionary is exactly the book you need. Open it, and you have not only just the right words but—bringing them to life—stellar literary examples of descriptive writing as well.

The Dictionary concern itself with the observable, from shapes to buildings to human beings. "Referably" organized, the book uses a handy reverse, definition-to-term format that makes it easy to zero in on the term you're seeking. For example, look up "Noses" to find "aquiline," "leptorrhine," and "snub-nosed." And as an inspiration to any writer—showing how it's done by the best—hundreds of colorful and evocative descriptive passages from such diverse authors as Dickens, Darwin, and Updike appear on facing pages, making this a singularly and richly different kind of reference book.

The craft of description lives in literature, conversation, journalism, and personal letters. For help in painting pictures with the English language, The Desciber's Dictionary is one of the most indispensable reference tools you can own.
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About the Author

David Grambs lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (August 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393312658
• ISBN-13: 978-0393312652
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #107,447 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better then a Thesaurus--By Far, March 4, 2002

By	Carolyn Howard-Johnson "Author 'This is the P... (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

The reason I like this reference so much is that if I don't find exactly what I'm looking for, I may very well find something I like better. Further, this is the kind of reference you can actually read. Open this book to any chapter (segment) on, say, "hair." You'll find several quotes about "hair" that are entertaining and may stir your own creative juices before you even get to the part that lists adjectives for all kinds of-- ahem-- tresses, locks, strands, shocks, hanks, coils, tendrils, curls, ringlets or swirls...As you can see, this offering gives an author an idea of how the best might have handled the same problem she faces. Many are mightily amusing.
If you don't just keep reading instead of handling the problem at hand, you might eventually find adjectives for some 96 possible "hair situations" and one of them will likely be exactly what you need.

There are usually several descriptive words under each entry. So for "oiled hair" you will find, "greased, slicked, slick, pomaded , brilliantined, plastered, pasted." You can choose one, let one speak to you so you can come up with a simile or metaphor, or move on down the list to see if there's something more to your liking.

When I get into a writing snit, it's often this book to my rescue.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a useful book, but not perfect, July 22, 2002

By	Kirk McElhearn "Mac author and journalist and... (A village in the French Alps) - See all my reviews

This is a very useful book, containing brief excerpts from literary works on the left-hand pages, and lists of words broken down in categories on the right. It is interesting both to read - the excerpts are all excellent examples of descriptive writing - and to find the right word. However, I don't give it 5 stars because it has no index. To find a word, you need to look first to the chapter (main categories) then read through all the sub-categories.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Purely physical, February 12, 2003

By	Elisabeth M. Graham "[e-mail]" (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lots of fun and useful for physical descriptions of animal, vegetable and mineral. Not appropriate for writers looking for inspiration in abstracts, emotions or thought.