I got a compact Oxford English Dictionary! It’s got teeny-tiny type and a magnifying glass. It’s just what I’ve always wanted and never expected to own in the near future. I can look up any word I want, woohoo! Definitely one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten, ever.
I nought a second-hand copy of the 12-volume OED in 1963 for 60 Australian pounds. One of the best investments I ever made: I still look at it at least once a week.
Lotta sickos here. My first thought was, “Well, as long as they’re both consenting adults, what they do in the privacy of their own home is their business.”
There’s something wonderful about holding the thing and turning the pages. So much culture and scholarship in one thing. I love the OED, and I’ll never forget the look on my Dad’s face when gave himn the compact version when it first came out.
Yep, it’s pretty great. This one is the one-volume edition; it’s taller than the old compact 1st edition and has nine pages to the page, where I think the old one had six. (I haven’t seen the two-volume new edition, if there is one, so I don’t know what it looks like.)
I saw one of the 2-volume editions in a thrift shop a couple years ago for $25, and in mighty fine condition (the box was a little warped and the magnifying glass missing, but the books were in pristine condition). I was so fearful of someone else getting it that I insisted that the cashier put it behind the counter for the 3 minutes it would take me to go to the ATM and back. (Because I know some of those old ladies buying used romance novels were gonna swoop on it as soon as I turned away.)
Wow. I would have thought that it rated on the *thoughtfulness scale * along the lines of a vacuum cleaner or a rice-cooker.
So you didn’t fling it at him and knock him out?
Man, female Dopers are weirder than I thought.
Well, enjoy your present.