# Do you have a dictionary within reach now? In the building? What brand? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250 "2001-01-03T16:51:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/21 "2001-01-03T19:46:28Z")
Here, Webster’s Collegiate 10th on my desk, black’s Law (rarely used) on my shelves. At home, a whole bunch of them, including a big Webster’s unabridged. That’s the one the kids use, cause we have an ongoing deal, if they can identify a word I don’t know and use it in a sentence, I give them a buck. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/22 "2001-01-03T19:47:20Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by screech-owl_: > > What’s the ISBN? 1-57820-053-9 [Here](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578200539/ref=sc_b_1/107-9126447-1517325) is the book at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). They have it for about the same price I paid in my book club. I’ve found some other interesting entries: \*\*\*Terabyte:\*\*\*From the Greek _Tera_, meaning “monster”, and the English _bite_, meaning “a small amount of food”. A unit of measurement for physical data storage equal to 2[sup]40[/sup] (roughly a trillion bytes). It also offers the following table: ```auto KB = Kilobyte = 2[sup]10[/sup] bytes MB = Megabyte = 2[sup]20[/sup] bytes GB = Gigabyte = 2[sup]30[/sup] bytes TB = Terabyte = 2[sup]40[/sup] bytes PB = Petabyte = 2[sup]50[/sup] bytes EB = Exabyte = 2[sup]60[/sup] bytes ZB = Zettabyte = 2[sup]70[/sup] bytes YB = Yottabyte = 2[sup]80[/sup] bytes ``` One googolbyte equals 2[sup]100[/sup] bytes. To put things in perspective, a terabyte holds a 100-byte record for every person on Earth, as well as an index of those records, or a JPEG compressed pixel for every square meter of land on Earth (more than enough to create a high resolution photograph of the entire land surface of the planet). It can also hold 1 billion business letters which would otherwise fill 150 miles of bookshelf space, or ten million JPEG images which would be enough to provide ten days & nights of continuous video. And **yes** I am working today. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/23 "2001-01-03T21:39:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by socpro69 \* > \*\*I’ve got the Concise Oxford Dictionary for my offline needs. When I’m posting here I usually just jet over to [http://dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) since I’m online anyway. \*\* Ditto here with the C.O.D., and a fine little Richardsnary it is! ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/24 "2001-01-04T00:02:52Z")
I just realized, upon reading this thread, that I only own _one_ dictionary–and that one isn’t an English dictionary. It’s my pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary, which happens to be right beside my computer here at the office. (I’m attempting to write a Gregorian chant for a game.) I don’t use dictionaries much, having often been accused of being a living one myself. Along the lines of Attrayant’s offering (which I will probably buy soon), I _do_ have the [Jargon Dictionary](http://info.astrian.net/jargon/) bookmarked. Somehow, I just _know_ that I’ll spot a misspelled word in this post as soon as I post it… ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/25 "2001-01-04T02:36:25Z")
Right here _holds up dictionary_. _Webster’s Universal College Dictionary_. It’s not the greatest dictionary, but my parents gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago. When I clean, it gets put back in the bookshelf, but it’s usually less than a week before I pull it out and leave it by the computer again. Other books that follow this pattern: _Roget’s Super Thesaurus_ (I use this to look up more common synonyms to the ten-dollar words that my brain generates), _The Order of Things_, _Dictionary of Word Origins_ (the only one that hasn’t migrated back to the computer yet). ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/26 "2001-01-04T03:36:19Z")
I mourn the loss of my Seventh New Collegiate. It was outdated, but it had rhymes, common given names, and other cool things. I have some Webster’s (9th?) in my office. At home we use the American Heritage Dictionary, plus my Official Scrabble Player’s Dictionary is never far from reach. I got my spouse the Franklin Talking Dictionary (about $100) that has over 100,000 words. He loves it, always has it within reach when he’s reading the NYT. ---
**Author:** ![Wozzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@Wozzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wozzo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/27 "2001-01-04T03:39:30Z")
RealityChuck and I have pretty much the same library. Pretty scary! At work, I use dictionaries and style guides primarily to irritate the people whose work I edit. These writers are technical people - a good thing - who have no ear for language - a bad thing, when they’re contributing to reports that are likely to get public scrutiny. And many of them have fixed ideas about usage, based on what they _sort of_ remember from grade school. Writers rarely disagree with my edits on technical grounds (I work hard not to _change meaning_), but if I say something that the writer’s third grade teacher called a mistake, I have to justify it. So I basically use dictionaries and style guides to illustrate the wide variety of things that are _correct_ in language and usage. Writers who regard grammar and usage as a series of _Thou shalt nots_ sometimes find my justifications irritating. ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/28 "2001-01-04T03:49:22Z")
Yep, right here. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. Also have a Childrens Dictionary around here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Tzel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzel)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/29 "2001-01-04T06:28:31Z")
On the coffee table, about 8 ft behind me. Webster’s NewWorld Dictionary. Second College Edition. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/30 "2001-01-04T15:53:37Z")
Within reach, American Heritage. ---
**Author:** ![Tiburon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@Tiburon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiburon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/31 "2001-01-04T17:10:10Z")
Let’s see… Black’s Law Dictionary Barron’s Law Dictionary Langenscheidt Pocket Merriam Webster Dictionary and I use [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) Tibs ---
**Author:** ![shimmery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@shimmery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shimmery)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2001, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/32 "2001-01-04T22:53:42Z")
Webster’s New World, 2nd College Edition (upstairs) … It’s leather-bound and really nice, although I rarely use it so I can’t really say how it is with words. And of course my Larousse French/English “mini-dictionnaire” . which is pretty amazing for a pocket dictionary… it’s about 3 by 5 (truly pocket-sized) with 40,000 translations… I’ve never looked up a word that wasn’t in it - for example it has separate definitions for tennis, tennis ball, tennis court, and tennis racket. Also it has little blurbs about French culture scattered throughout and such amusing translations as **maf(f)ia** - mafia (la Maf(f)ia sicilienne - the Mafia) . It’s so cute and lovable :o) Also I’m pretty sure my dad has a Black’s Law Dictionary around here somewhere (mainly used for step aerobics) ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2001, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/33 "2001-01-05T22:54:48Z")
Within reach? Okay, within reach I have: Oxford Canadian Dictionary Oxford Concise Dictionary The Penguin Canadian Dictionary Gage’s Canadian Senior Dictionary Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary Brewerer’s Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Phrase and Fable The Penguin Spelling Dictionary Le Robert Micro (French) and if I turn around, just out of regular reach is: Collins French/English Dictionary Roget’s Thesaurus The Bloomsbury Dictionary of Grammar The New Webster’s Grammar Guide Funk & Wagnalls Standard Hanbook of Synonyms, Antonyms & Prepositions and several Style Guides (Chicago, CP…) and references on editing Canadian English. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Danielinthewolvesden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2001, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/34 "2001-01-06T10:18:28Z")
At my feet i have the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary- very useful in GD, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Carina42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Carina42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carina42)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2001, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/35 "2001-01-06T10:29:01Z")
Right here at my home office: Black’s Law Dictionary, Oxford Concise + Thesaurus, Websters, and an old medical dictionary I picked up at a garage sale. Illustrated, so it makes for fun reading! I also have a ton of foreign language ones: English-Spanish/Hungarian/Turkish/French/Arabic/Spanish, and Greek. ---
**Author:** ![silent\_rob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/36 "2001-01-06T17:12:48Z")
Right by the computer I’ve got _The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary_ circa 1972 and _The Bantam College French & English Dictionary_. I’ve also got a copy of _Roget’s College Thesaurus_ (I don’t know why they’re college editions, cuz even though I’m in college, I didn’t buy them). I just use these to quickly look things up, though. I’ve got a huge _Oxford’s_ that I use if I have to seriously look anything up. It’s the kind that’s also got multiple other dictionaries in it (slang, biology, a few languages, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2001, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/37 "2001-01-07T13:19:45Z")
On my desk here I have a Merriam Webster Reference Set containing a dictionary, thesaurus, and spelling dictionary, which my middle school gave me upon graduation. In the drawer of the desk there is a pocket-sized Oxford Popular Dictionary, because my husband doesn’t trust my “silly American” dictionaries. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2001, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/38 "2001-01-07T20:40:55Z")
Random House Unabridged, 2nd edition. Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (published by Dorset & Baber). And so many foreign language dictionaries that I don’t want to type them all in: Spanish, French, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, Korean… When online I use [http://www.m-w.com](http://www.m-w.com), and I also have a Franklin Wordmaster that I never use. ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/39 "2001-01-08T01:29:20Z")
Just within reach: 3 German-English (Pons, Langenscheidt, Business terms), 2 German only (Duden, Wahrig), 1 English only (Random House). Just out of reach: Too many to count! ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250/40 "2001-01-08T05:33:44Z")
One: On my computer, I have Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary/Thesaurus, version 3.11. I have no idea how many entries there are; it’s big. Two: On my desk within an arm’s length is the Webster’s New World Dictionary, put out by Simon and Schuster about 15-20 years ago. My parents got it originally via Reader’s Digest…we were sent some promotional flyer from them advertising the dictionary. I asked mom if we needed a new dictionary; she said yes. Well, then, I checked the Yes box, and much to mom’s amusement, we got a dictionary. It’s now mine. 🙂 Three: I have an enormous Spanish-English dictionary on the bookshelf…it’s quite a bit thicker than the Webster’s. Out of reach, I have two pocket dictionaries, a pocket thesaurus, a pocket Spanish-English dictionary, and a Spanish-English computerized dictionary on one of my computers at school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-dictionary-within-reach-now-in-the-building-what-brand/48250.md?page=3)