Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Very helpful for the right people, 10 Jun 2006
This is a book for people who already have a strong knowledge of Spanish as it contains no English whatsoever. There are thousands of words listed alphabetically, and for each there is a wide selection of synonyms. Of course, not every synonym has the exact same meaning as the original word (e.g. 'domicilio/address' is given as an alternative for 'casa/house')therefore it is essential that you already know the main vocabulary. So, if your Spanish is good enough, then this book will serve you perfectly. I have found it very easy to use and it even covers some regional varieties and antonyms. Just a little word of warning: sometimes the synonyms offered are very uncommon in everyday speech and writing which may leave even native speakers bewildered!

One of the best language resources I have ever used, 05 Feb 2004
This book is clear to follow, with an alphabetical thumbnail guide, making it one of the easiest to use reference works I have ever encountered for foreign languages. The masterstroke here lies in the numbering and grouping of the different meanings of synonyms under each word, so you never doubt whether two synonyms are exactly the same or vary slightly. The anatonyms even refer to the individual sub-groups of synomyms and not merely the main word. I would highly reccommend this book to any advanced or university student of Spanish and it's also really quite cheap for a reference work of its quality.

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Very helpful for the right people, 10 Jun 2006
This is a book for people who already have a strong knowledge of Spanish as it contains no English whatsoever. There are thousands of words listed alphabetically, and for each there is a wide selection of synonyms. Of course, not every synonym has the exact same meaning as the original word (e.g. 'domicilio/address' is given as an alternative for 'casa/house')therefore it is essential that you already know the main vocabulary. So, if your Spanish is good enough, then this book will serve you perfectly. I have found it very easy to use and it even covers some regional varieties and antonyms. Just a little word of warning: sometimes the synonyms offered are very uncommon in everyday speech and writing which may leave even native speakers bewildered!

One of the best language resources I have ever used, 05 Feb 2004
This book is clear to follow, with an alphabetical thumbnail guide, making it one of the easiest to use reference works I have ever encountered for foreign languages. The masterstroke here lies in the numbering and grouping of the different meanings of synonyms under each word, so you never doubt whether two synonyms are exactly the same or vary slightly. The anatonyms even refer to the individual sub-groups of synomyms and not merely the main word. I would highly reccommend this book to any advanced or university student of Spanish and it's also really quite cheap for a reference work of its quality.

Should be on everyone's bookshelf, 16 Dec 2007
Mr Bryson turns his experience as a sub-editor to the art of 'getting it right' in written English. Great for settling those arguments about correct usuage and for those niggly aspects of grammar you just can't quite remember from your schooldays.

An intelligent, engrossing read, 13 Dec 2007
As I pored through this book (oh crikey, is that the right spelling of 'pored'?), one thing kept going through my mind: how on earth will I remember all these things?!
There's just so much in here; the English language is such a labyrinthine, potentially perplexing thing (oops, was that correct use of 'labyrinthine'?). You half want to say, oh the heck with it. As you read, you test yourself on what has gone before when a definition refers back to another. 'Just give me a second to remember...' you cry, and then curse yourself when you can't.
My second point is this: many of the meanings and usages of words continue to change and there's very little we can do about it. Bryson and others may like to insist that, eg media remains plural, but idiom forces it to bend another way. He occasionally admits that idiom is tough to battle against, but does so anyway. If he was around in 500 years (oo, do I need an apostrophe there?) time I suspect he will be disappointed with the change in meaning of many words. But why fight it? It's a losing battle in many cases.
In conclusion, this is an engrossing book for anyone who loves words, and comes highly recommended. BB's sardonic wit is kept in check but the book's content allows for much gentle humour.

A useful and entertaining book - could be a little more general though, 14 Apr 2007
Before finding fame as a travel writer with The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson had been a sub-editor at the Times struggling with the nuances of the English language. What is the difference between flouting and flaunting; what exactly does it mean to imply and to infer; can one use the word either in reference to more than two alternatives? Unable to find a single, concise guide to which he could refer to for such `troublesome words', Bryson contacted Penguin and offered to write one himself.

Troublesome Words, the 2001 revised and updated edition of Bryson's original 1984 book (The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words), is an A - Z guide to words and phrases commonly misused in print. Drawing from more than 40 respected works on linguistics, Bryson provides advice and suggestions to everyday grammatical problems and helpfully illustrates them with real-life examples of misuse. He explains that culminate, for example, "does not signify any result or outcome, but rather one marking a high point" and cites an a news clipping from The Times which reads "The company's financial troubles culminated in the resignation of the chairman last June". The example highlights Bryson's lesson. A series of financial gains could culminate in the chairman receiving a bonus but financial troubles do not culminate in a resignation. Helpfully, he not only warns against words that are used incorrectly, but also those which are often used redundantly, such as basically; a word which in most contexts "is basically unnecessary, as here."

Unfortunately, the somewhat narrow breadth of the guide does betray its (and Bryson's) Fleet Street origins. Almost every example of misuse hails from newspaper pieces and, furthermore, usually from the business pages. So Bryson provides the correct spelling for the name of the household products company, Procter & Gamble but no guide to using, for example, the word breadth, as appears at the top of this paragraph (incorrectly as it happens, the phrase used should be "narrow scope"). As such, one can't help but feel the dictionary would be improved by a slight shift in emphasis toward the general writer.

These are minor gripes though, and Bryson is both a thoughtful and entertaining guide. Without bloating the book he peppers his definitions with etymology, anecdotes and, where appropriate, his trademark dry humour. He tells us, for example, that "the belief that 'and' should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that's all there is to it"; and that "barbecue is the only acceptable spelling in serious writing. Any journalist or other formal user of English who believes that the word is spelled barbeque or, worse still, bar-b-q is not ready for unsupervised employment'. As such, Troublesome Words is one of those rare things: a reference work which can be dipped into time and again yet remains a pleasure when read cover-to-cover.

Better-than-average guide to pedantry., 13 Sep 2005
I usually loathe this kind of book, because many of the rules they perpetuate turn out to be arbitrary inventions of previous writers (or 19th century scholars obsessed with using Latin grammar in English). This book is refreshing because Bryson evaluates the rules laid down by previous "authorities" against practical criteria: particularly, will following this rule improve clarity?

Not your usual Bryson book, 07 Jun 2004
This is definitely a book to dip into at infrequent intervals rather than read from cover to cover. It is laid out like a dictionary which is perhaps what makes it rather "bitty". "Mother Tongue" is a much better read for those who want an insight into the English language.

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Very helpful for the right people, 10 Jun 2006
This is a book for people who already have a strong knowledge of Spanish as it contains no English whatsoever. There are thousands of words listed alphabetically, and for each there is a wide selection of synonyms. Of course, not every synonym has the exact same meaning as the original word (e.g. 'domicilio/address' is given as an alternative for 'casa/house')therefore it is essential that you already know the main vocabulary. So, if your Spanish is good enough, then this book will serve you perfectly. I have found it very easy to use and it even covers some regional varieties and antonyms. Just a little word of warning: sometimes the synonyms offered are very uncommon in everyday speech and writing which may leave even native speakers bewildered!

One of the best language resources I have ever used, 05 Feb 2004
This book is clear to follow, with an alphabetical thumbnail guide, making it one of the easiest to use reference works I have ever encountered for foreign languages. The masterstroke here lies in the numbering and grouping of the different meanings of synonyms under each word, so you never doubt whether two synonyms are exactly the same or vary slightly. The anatonyms even refer to the individual sub-groups of synomyms and not merely the main word. I would highly reccommend this book to any advanced or university student of Spanish and it's also really quite cheap for a reference work of its quality.

Should be on everyone's bookshelf, 16 Dec 2007
Mr Bryson turns his experience as a sub-editor to the art of 'getting it right' in written English. Great for settling those arguments about correct usuage and for those niggly aspects of grammar you just can't quite remember from your schooldays.

An intelligent, engrossing read, 13 Dec 2007
As I pored through this book (oh crikey, is that the right spelling of 'pored'?), one thing kept going through my mind: how on earth will I remember all these things?!
There's just so much in here; the English language is such a labyrinthine, potentially perplexing thing (oops, was that correct use of 'labyrinthine'?). You half want to say, oh the heck with it. As you read, you test yourself on what has gone before when a definition refers back to another. 'Just give me a second to remember...' you cry, and then curse yourself when you can't.
My second point is this: many of the meanings and usages of words continue to change and there's very little we can do about it. Bryson and others may like to insist that, eg media remains plural, but idiom forces it to bend another way. He occasionally admits that idiom is tough to battle against, but does so anyway. If he was around in 500 years (oo, do I need an apostrophe there?) time I suspect he will be disappointed with the change in meaning of many words. But why fight it? It's a losing battle in many cases.
In conclusion, this is an engrossing book for anyone who loves words, and comes highly recommended. BB's sardonic wit is kept in check but the book's content allows for much gentle humour.

A useful and entertaining book - could be a little more general though, 14 Apr 2007
Before finding fame as a travel writer with The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson had been a sub-editor at the Times struggling with the nuances of the English language. What is the difference between flouting and flaunting; what exactly does it mean to imply and to infer; can one use the word either in reference to more than two alternatives? Unable to find a single, concise guide to which he could refer to for such `troublesome words', Bryson contacted Penguin and offered to write one himself.

Troublesome Words, the 2001 revised and updated edition of Bryson's original 1984 book (The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words), is an A - Z guide to words and phrases commonly misused in print. Drawing from more than 40 respected works on linguistics, Bryson provides advice and suggestions to everyday grammatical problems and helpfully illustrates them with real-life examples of misuse. He explains that culminate, for example, "does not signify any result or outcome, but rather one marking a high point" and cites an a news clipping from The Times which reads "The company's financial troubles culminated in the resignation of the chairman last June". The example highlights Bryson's lesson. A series of financial gains could culminate in the chairman receiving a bonus but financial troubles do not culminate in a resignation. Helpfully, he not only warns against words that are used incorrectly, but also those which are often used redundantly, such as basically; a word which in most contexts "is basically unnecessary, as here."

Unfortunately, the somewhat narrow breadth of the guide does betray its (and Bryson's) Fleet Street origins. Almost every example of misuse hails from newspaper pieces and, furthermore, usually from the business pages. So Bryson provides the correct spelling for the name of the household products company, Procter & Gamble but no guide to using, for example, the word breadth, as appears at the top of this paragraph (incorrectly as it happens, the phrase used should be "narrow scope"). As such, one can't help but feel the dictionary would be improved by a slight shift in emphasis toward the general writer.

These are minor gripes though, and Bryson is both a thoughtful and entertaining guide. Without bloating the book he peppers his definitions with etymology, anecdotes and, where appropriate, his trademark dry humour. He tells us, for example, that "the belief that 'and' should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that's all there is to it"; and that "barbecue is the only acceptable spelling in serious writing. Any journalist or other formal user of English who believes that the word is spelled barbeque or, worse still, bar-b-q is not ready for unsupervised employment'. As such, Troublesome Words is one of those rare things: a reference work which can be dipped into time and again yet remains a pleasure when read cover-to-cover.

Better-than-average guide to pedantry., 13 Sep 2005
I usually loathe this kind of book, because many of the rules they perpetuate turn out to be arbitrary inventions of previous writers (or 19th century scholars obsessed with using Latin grammar in English). This book is refreshing because Bryson evaluates the rules laid down by previous "authorities" against practical criteria: particularly, will following this rule improve clarity?

Not your usual Bryson book, 07 Jun 2004
This is definitely a book to dip into at infrequent intervals rather than read from cover to cover. It is laid out like a dictionary which is perhaps what makes it rather "bitty". "Mother Tongue" is a much better read for those who want an insight into the English language.

The Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Very helpful for the right people, 10 Jun 2006
This is a book for people who already have a strong knowledge of Spanish as it contains no English whatsoever. There are thousands of words listed alphabetically, and for each there is a wide selection of synonyms. Of course, not every synonym has the exact same meaning as the original word (e.g. 'domicilio/address' is given as an alternative for 'casa/house')therefore it is essential that you already know the main vocabulary. So, if your Spanish is good enough, then this book will serve you perfectly. I have found it very easy to use and it even covers some regional varieties and antonyms. Just a little word of warning: sometimes the synonyms offered are very uncommon in everyday speech and writing which may leave even native speakers bewildered!

One of the best language resources I have ever used, 05 Feb 2004
This book is clear to follow, with an alphabetical thumbnail guide, making it one of the easiest to use reference works I have ever encountered for foreign languages. The masterstroke here lies in the numbering and grouping of the different meanings of synonyms under each word, so you never doubt whether two synonyms are exactly the same or vary slightly. The anatonyms even refer to the individual sub-groups of synomyms and not merely the main word. I would highly reccommend this book to any advanced or university student of Spanish and it's also really quite cheap for a reference work of its quality.

Should be on everyone's bookshelf, 16 Dec 2007
Mr Bryson turns his experience as a sub-editor to the art of 'getting it right' in written English. Great for settling those arguments about correct usuage and for those niggly aspects of grammar you just can't quite remember from your schooldays.

An intelligent, engrossing read, 13 Dec 2007
As I pored through this book (oh crikey, is that the right spelling of 'pored'?), one thing kept going through my mind: how on earth will I remember all these things?!
There's just so much in here; the English language is such a labyrinthine, potentially perplexing thing (oops, was that correct use of 'labyrinthine'?). You half want to say, oh the heck with it. As you read, you test yourself on what has gone before when a definition refers back to another. 'Just give me a second to remember...' you cry, and then curse yourself when you can't.
My second point is this: many of the meanings and usages of words continue to change and there's very little we can do about it. Bryson and others may like to insist that, eg media remains plural, but idiom forces it to bend another way. He occasionally admits that idiom is tough to battle against, but does so anyway. If he was around in 500 years (oo, do I need an apostrophe there?) time I suspect he will be disappointed with the change in meaning of many words. But why fight it? It's a losing battle in many cases.
In conclusion, this is an engrossing book for anyone who loves words, and comes highly recommended. BB's sardonic wit is kept in check but the book's content allows for much gentle humour.

A useful and entertaining book - could be a little more general though, 14 Apr 2007
Before finding fame as a travel writer with The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson had been a sub-editor at the Times struggling with the nuances of the English language. What is the difference between flouting and flaunting; what exactly does it mean to imply and to infer; can one use the word either in reference to more than two alternatives? Unable to find a single, concise guide to which he could refer to for such `troublesome words', Bryson contacted Penguin and offered to write one himself.

Troublesome Words, the 2001 revised and updated edition of Bryson's original 1984 book (The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words), is an A - Z guide to words and phrases commonly misused in print. Drawing from more than 40 respected works on linguistics, Bryson provides advice and suggestions to everyday grammatical problems and helpfully illustrates them with real-life examples of misuse. He explains that culminate, for example, "does not signify any result or outcome, but rather one marking a high point" and cites an a news clipping from The Times which reads "The company's financial troubles culminated in the resignation of the chairman last June". The example highlights Bryson's lesson. A series of financial gains could culminate in the chairman receiving a bonus but financial troubles do not culminate in a resignation. Helpfully, he not only warns against words that are used incorrectly, but also those which are often used redundantly, such as basically; a word which in most contexts "is basically unnecessary, as here."

Unfortunately, the somewhat narrow breadth of the guide does betray its (and Bryson's) Fleet Street origins. Almost every example of misuse hails from newspaper pieces and, furthermore, usually from the business pages. So Bryson provides the correct spelling for the name of the household products company, Procter & Gamble but no guide to using, for example, the word breadth, as appears at the top of this paragraph (incorrectly as it happens, the phrase used should be "narrow scope"). As such, one can't help but feel the dictionary would be improved by a slight shift in emphasis toward the general writer.

These are minor gripes though, and Bryson is both a thoughtful and entertaining guide. Without bloating the book he peppers his definitions with etymology, anecdotes and, where appropriate, his trademark dry humour. He tells us, for example, that "the belief that 'and' should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that's all there is to it"; and that "barbecue is the only acceptable spelling in serious writing. Any journalist or other formal user of English who believes that the word is spelled barbeque or, worse still, bar-b-q is not ready for unsupervised employment'. As such, Troublesome Words is one of those rare things: a reference work which can be dipped into time and again yet remains a pleasure when read cover-to-cover.

Better-than-average guide to pedantry., 13 Sep 2005
I usually loathe this kind of book, because many of the rules they perpetuate turn out to be arbitrary inventions of previous writers (or 19th century scholars obsessed with using Latin grammar in English). This book is refreshing because Bryson evaluates the rules laid down by previous "authorities" against practical criteria: particularly, will following this rule improve clarity?

Not your usual Bryson book, 07 Jun 2004
This is definitely a book to dip into at infrequent intervals rather than read from cover to cover. It is laid out like a dictionary which is perhaps what makes it rather "bitty". "Mother Tongue" is a much better read for those who want an insight into the English language.

The Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

a lovely and useful book, 02 Mar 2007
Yes, I want to say it is one of the best visual dictionary at present, roundly and detailedly. It could be the very convenient reference book to approach those complex and uncommon scientific Nouns. It is excellnet. But only one thing I want to emphaisze is that all the background is mere white, which obviously has been proven that is not very adapted to clearly show many light-colour pictures inside.

The Ultimate, 13 Jan 2004
This dictionary gives a wonderful 'insight' into things we sometimes take for granted. Step into this inside world and things will never be humdrum again.
This is an excellent reference book to have closeby as an aid with projects etc. It will greatly enhance your knowledge. The details are superb and the 'science bit' well explained. If you have this book on your shelf, buy it for someone else, they will thank you for it.

Great for Getting Kids Hooked on Books, 18 Mar 2003
This book has pretty much single-handedly got my toddler interested in books. It's perfectly designed to appeal to a wide range of kids from toddlers right through to the end of primary school.

It's not really a dictionary, more a visual encyclopaedia, arranged into a wide variety of topics like The Human Body, Transport, and Musical Instruments. Every page comes crammed with photographs and high-quality illustrations which will appeal to the youngsters. There's not a huge amount of text but what there is is informative enough to keep the older kids interested. It appears the Ultimate Visual Dictionary is almost a "best of" the excellent Dorling Kindersley Eye-Witness books.

The book is so large, and covers such a range of topics, that kids will continue to find something new in it for months and years. After three years it's still my son's favourite book, which he dips into several times a week. It's also been a good learning tool as it pricks his interest in all sorts of topics and leads him deeper into the subjects.

great book for science minded kids, 12 Dec 1998
The paperback version of this book is about 6 inches by 5 inches, and at least 2" thick. Very cool. Great resource for kids who enjoy knowing how things work and what things are called. (not to mention the adults who have to live with them.)

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Very helpful for the right people, 10 Jun 2006
This is a book for people who already have a strong knowledge of Spanish as it contains no English whatsoever. There are thousands of words listed alphabetically, and for each there is a wide selection of synonyms. Of course, not every synonym has the exact same meaning as the original word (e.g. 'domicilio/address' is given as an alternative for 'casa/house')therefore it is essential that you already know the main vocabulary. So, if your Spanish is good enough, then this book will serve you perfectly. I have found it very easy to use and it even covers some regional varieties and antonyms. Just a little word of warning: sometimes the synonyms offered are very uncommon in everyday speech and writing which may leave even native speakers bewildered!

One of the best language resources I have ever used, 05 Feb 2004
This book is clear to follow, with an alphabetical thumbnail guide, making it one of the easiest to use reference works I have ever encountered for foreign languages. The masterstroke here lies in the numbering and grouping of the different meanings of synonyms under each word, so you never doubt whether two synonyms are exactly the same or vary slightly. The anatonyms even refer to the individual sub-groups of synomyms and not merely the main word. I would highly reccommend this book to any advanced or university student of Spanish and it's also really quite cheap for a reference work of its quality.

Should be on everyone's bookshelf, 16 Dec 2007
Mr Bryson turns his experience as a sub-editor to the art of 'getting it right' in written English. Great for settling those arguments about correct usuage and for those niggly aspects of grammar you just can't quite remember from your schooldays.

An intelligent, engrossing read, 13 Dec 2007
As I pored through this book (oh crikey, is that the right spelling of 'pored'?), one thing kept going through my mind: how on earth will I remember all these things?!
There's just so much in here; the English language is such a labyrinthine, potentially perplexing thing (oops, was that correct use of 'labyrinthine'?). You half want to say, oh the heck with it. As you read, you test yourself on what has gone before when a definition refers back to another. 'Just give me a second to remember...' you cry, and then curse yourself when you can't.
My second point is this: many of the meanings and usages of words continue to change and there's very little we can do about it. Bryson and others may like to insist that, eg media remains plural, but idiom forces it to bend another way. He occasionally admits that idiom is tough to battle against, but does so anyway. If he was around in 500 years (oo, do I need an apostrophe there?) time I suspect he will be disappointed with the change in meaning of many words. But why fight it? It's a losing battle in many cases.
In conclusion, this is an engrossing book for anyone who loves words, and comes highly recommended. BB's sardonic wit is kept in check but the book's content allows for much gentle humour.

A useful and entertaining book - could be a little more general though, 14 Apr 2007
Before finding fame as a travel writer with The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson had been a sub-editor at the Times struggling with the nuances of the English language. What is the difference between flouting and flaunting; what exactly does it mean to imply and to infer; can one use the word either in reference to more than two alternatives? Unable to find a single, concise guide to which he could refer to for such `troublesome words', Bryson contacted Penguin and offered to write one himself.

Troublesome Words, the 2001 revised and updated edition of Bryson's original 1984 book (The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words), is an A - Z guide to words and phrases commonly misused in print. Drawing from more than 40 respected works on linguistics, Bryson provides advice and suggestions to everyday grammatical problems and helpfully illustrates them with real-life examples of misuse. He explains that culminate, for example, "does not signify any result or outcome, but rather one marking a high point" and cites an a news clipping from The Times which reads "The company's financial troubles culminated in the resignation of the chairman last June". The example highlights Bryson's lesson. A series of financial gains could culminate in the chairman receiving a bonus but financial troubles do not culminate in a resignation. Helpfully, he not only warns against words that are used incorrectly, but also those which are often used redundantly, such as basically; a word which in most contexts "is basically unnecessary, as here."

Unfortunately, the somewhat narrow breadth of the guide does betray its (and Bryson's) Fleet Street origins. Almost every example of misuse hails from newspaper pieces and, furthermore, usually from the business pages. So Bryson provides the correct spelling for the name of the household products company, Procter & Gamble but no guide to using, for example, the word breadth, as appears at the top of this paragraph (incorrectly as it happens, the phrase used should be "narrow scope"). As such, one can't help but feel the dictionary would be improved by a slight shift in emphasis toward the general writer.

These are minor gripes though, and Bryson is both a thoughtful and entertaining guide. Without bloating the book he peppers his definitions with etymology, anecdotes and, where appropriate, his trademark dry humour. He tells us, for example, that "the belief that 'and' should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that's all there is to it"; and that "barbecue is the only acceptable spelling in serious writing. Any journalist or other formal user of English who believes that the word is spelled barbeque or, worse still, bar-b-q is not ready for unsupervised employment'. As such, Troublesome Words is one of those rare things: a reference work which can be dipped into time and again yet remains a pleasure when read cover-to-cover.

Better-than-average guide to pedantry., 13 Sep 2005
I usually loathe this kind of book, because many of the rules they perpetuate turn out to be arbitrary inventions of previous writers (or 19th century scholars obsessed with using Latin grammar in English). This book is refreshing because Bryson evaluates the rules laid down by previous "authorities" against practical criteria: particularly, will following this rule improve clarity?

Not your usual Bryson book, 07 Jun 2004
This is definitely a book to dip into at infrequent intervals rather than read from cover to cover. It is laid out like a dictionary which is perhaps what makes it rather "bitty". "Mother Tongue" is a much better read for those who want an insight into the English language.

The Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

a lovely and useful book, 02 Mar 2007
Yes, I want to say it is one of the best visual dictionary at present, roundly and detailedly. It could be the very convenient reference book to approach those complex and uncommon scientific Nouns. It is excellnet. But only one thing I want to emphaisze is that all the background is mere white, which obviously has been proven that is not very adapted to clearly show many light-colour pictures inside.

The Ultimate, 13 Jan 2004
This dictionary gives a wonderful 'insight' into things we sometimes take for granted. Step into this inside world and things will never be humdrum again.
This is an excellent reference book to have closeby as an aid with projects etc. It will greatly enhance your knowledge. The details are superb and the 'science bit' well explained. If you have this book on your shelf, buy it for someone else, they will thank you for it.

Great for Getting Kids Hooked on Books, 18 Mar 2003
This book has pretty much single-handedly got my toddler interested in books. It's perfectly designed to appeal to a wide range of kids from toddlers right through to the end of primary school.

It's not really a dictionary, more a visual encyclopaedia, arranged into a wide variety of topics like The Human Body, Transport, and Musical Instruments. Every page comes crammed with photographs and high-quality illustrations which will appeal to the youngsters. There's not a huge amount of text but what there is is informative enough to keep the older kids interested. It appears the Ultimate Visual Dictionary is almost a "best of" the excellent Dorling Kindersley Eye-Witness books.

The book is so large, and covers such a range of topics, that kids will continue to find something new in it for months and years. After three years it's still my son's favourite book, which he dips into several times a week. It's also been a good learning tool as it pricks his interest in all sorts of topics and leads him deeper into the subjects.

great book for science minded kids, 12 Dec 1998
The paperback version of this book is about 6 inches by 5 inches, and at least 2" thick. Very cool. Great resource for kids who enjoy knowing how things work and what things are called. (not to mention the adults who have to live with them.)

An Invaluable Resource!, 27 Aug 2008
This is an amazing book which is the last word in Thesauruses. It is over 1,350 pages. I have written three books using this Synonym finder and hve found it to be invaluable! My copy has so many dog ears I probably need to open a kennel!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

This Book is Amazing..., 02 Nov 2005
There is only one way to improve on this book... It needs to be on CD-Rom. I'm a writer and love to be portable which I am, except for this huge writing tool called the Synonym Finder. I can't work without it, so it goes where I go. Maybe someday....

The only one you need, 25 Aug 2004
I've been after a thesaurus that's both comprenehensive and easy to use for a long time, and always found the offerings in local bookshops (Roget/Oxford/Collins) to be wanting. For me, this one fits the bill perfectly (okay, ideally I'd like to have its contents online, searchable, etc. but as a book it's hard to see how a thesaurus could be done any better than this).

Here are the key points:

- more than 1.5 million synonyms, according to the introduction, spread over 1361 pages of fairly dense 2-column text, which means it's one to keep by your writing desk, not to carry around in a satchel. Type size is small but readable -- a little smaller than the paperback novel I'm reading at the moment.

- No-frills A-Z layout that makes it easy to find the entry you're looking for (should appeal to those who find Roget overly clunky in use).

- sensible headword choices keep the thing to a manageable size (thus likely look-up candidates such as "thin" and "emaciated" are headwords while the possibly more rarefied "bony" only appears *within* the entries.

The Synonym Finder, 13 May 2003
As a copywriter I find this book more useful than any other. It's not that easy to find, even in London book shops where the much inferior Oxford reference books have distribution more or less sewn up.

Excellent! The best., 23 Jul 1999
"The Synonym Finder" is the best thesaurus I have found. Largest selection of words and synonyms available, easy to use. My only regret is that I can't find it on CD.

Get this one!, 01 Jan 2008
This is the one to get. Don't bother with cheaper ones. It's a reference book that doesn't mind being well thumbed. If only the other publishers realised that reference books have to be a sturdy piece of kit. This will be a constant companion for many years. Penguin lasted a year. Chambers lasted a few weeks.

A Rhyme Too Many?, 11 Oct 2005
While the book is very comprehensive its very comprehensiveness
counts against convenient use. If you're an amateur poet, you'd
do better with the Penguin or the Chambers. A rhyming dictionary
can only be suggestive - who wants ALL the possible rhymes for
a given word?

The Definitive Rhyming Tool?, 10 Nov 2004
This book is a wonder and seems to be the most comprehensive of its type on the market.

It's enduring attraction is that it promotes so many different contexts for rhyme - not just academic poetry but in jokes, song lyrics, photo-captions, speeches etc - that you may not be initially aware of. Unexpectedly for me it's a great "dip in" book.

As with all reference books this needs to be (and is) a sturdy hardback. How many others are?

Ultimately it's main worth for me is it's organisation. It's arranged by a large index at the back which is a list of alphabetical subjects, their exact rhymes are numerically systematised in the front section into groups of exact rhymes. Usefully this includes proper nouns (eg Robert di Niro = hero)and even more practically, each category is organised ALONGSIDE groups of near-rhymes giving you greater access to the comedic side of rhyming.

And that's just it - with such a large wordbank this is an unpredictably funny source of reference. One which is bound to increase in usuage once the lay-out is mastered.

You too can rhyme Somerset with Exocet!

A good reference dictionary, 03 Apr 2008
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a wonderful companion when attempting to write poetry.
Even the best of us struggle when looking for rhymes.
With such an easy layout and a wide range of words, this dictionary is most helpful.
I would recommended !

From limericks to lyrics..., 18 Sep 2003
There was a young man from Salisbury, who once bought a rhyming dictionary,
Whilst sucking on a lozenge, he found a rhyme for orange, and the rest as they say, is history! - from limericks to lyrics an invaluable guide for poets and songwriters, very easy to use with rhymes listed in groups with true rhymes then close rhymes, even gives descriptions for obscure words as well as names & place names, an extremely useful guide for inspiration and finding that illusive rhyme.

Helpful And Handy, 25 May 2002
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is a compelling opus, which generally meets all the linguistic needs of today's true versifiers. It is very extensive covering words from common to exceptionally rare yet remaining absolutely pragmatic.

The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary is also very easy to use unlike some rhyming dictionaries such as, for instance, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, which I found very arduous as the rhymes were to be searched by their phonetic order. In The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary the desired word can be looked up from the back of the book, and it gives you the page number from where all the words that rhyme with this particular word can be found.

Basically, the only thing that stops me from giving 5 stars to this book is that there are a few word sections that are just jumbled up and which do not really rhyme, such as dribble and babble, or something similar to this example.
However, this is only a tiny flaw in a book that has definitely become an incontestable necessity for me. It has earned its recommendations.

11 rhymes for love, 28 Feb 2001
The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson is easy to use. To find the rhymes for any particular word, first look in the index, which forms roughly the second half of the book. The index will refer you either to a group number (e.g. 15) or a subgroup number (e.g. 15.3) in the first part of the book. And that's it, - rhyme along! The book contains lists of rhymes for well over 40000 words, and even offer explanations of the unusual ones. For instance: I was desperately looking for a rhyme for the word disequilibrium, and yes, here it was: Perionychium, explained as skin surrounding fingernail. I'll find a way to make use of this in a song, sooner or later. But, of course, there are several more relevant words for songwriters: 11 rhymes for love, - even Baal Shem Tov (Jewish religious leader!). I don't regret I also ordered a copy for a friend.

Does the job very well, 11 Feb 2001
This helped me very much at school when I had to write my poetry and then my friend at uni used it for his degree!!

Very helpful for the right people, 10 Jun 2006
This is a book for people who already have a strong knowledge of Spanish as it contains no English whatsoever. There are thousands of words listed alphabetically, and for each there is a wide selection of synonyms. Of course, not every synonym has the exact same meaning as the original word (e.g. 'domicilio/address' is given as an alternative for 'casa/house')therefore it is essential that you already know the main vocabulary. So, if your Spanish is good enough, then this book will serve you perfectly. I have found it very easy to use and it even covers some regional varieties and antonyms. Just a little word of warning: sometimes the synonyms offered are very uncommon in everyday speech and writing which may leave even native speakers bewildered!

One of the best language resources I have ever used, 05 Feb 2004
This book is clear to follow, with an alphabetical thumbnail guide, making it one of the easiest to use reference works I have ever encountered for foreign languages. The masterstroke here lies in the numbering and grouping of the different meanings of synonyms under each word, so you never doubt whether two synonyms are exactly the same or vary slightly. The anatonyms even refer to the individual sub-groups of synomyms and not merely the main word. I would highly reccommend this book to any advanced or university student of Spanish and it's also really quite cheap for a reference work of its quality.

Should be on everyone's bookshelf, 16 Dec 2007
Mr Bryson turns his experience as a sub-editor to the art of 'getting it right' in written English. Great for settling those arguments about correct usuage and for those niggly aspects of grammar you just can't quite remember from your schooldays.

An intelligent, engrossing read, 13 Dec 2007
As I pored through this book (oh crikey, is that the right spelling of 'pored'?), one thing kept going through my mind: how on earth will I remember all these things?!
There's just so much in here; the English language is such a labyrinthine, potentially perplexing thing (oops, was that correct use of 'labyrinthine'?). You half want to say, oh the heck with it. As you read, you test yourself on what has gone before when a definition refers back to another. 'Just give me a second to remember...' you cry, and then curse yourself when you can't.
My second point is this: many of the meanings and usages of words continue to change and there's very little we can do about it. Bryson and others may like to insist that, eg media remains plural, but idiom forces it to bend another way. He occasionally admits that idiom is tough to battle against, but does so anyway. If he was around in 500 years (oo, do I need an apostrophe there?) time I suspect he will be disappointed with the change in meaning of many words. But why fight it? It's a losing battle in many cases.
In conclusion, this is an engrossing book for anyone who loves words, and comes highly recommended. BB's sardonic wit is kept in check but the book's content allows for much gentle humour.

A useful and entertaining book - could be a little more general though, 14 Apr 2007
Before finding fame as a travel writer with The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson had been a sub-editor at the Times struggling with the nuances of the English language. What is the difference between flouting and flaunting; what exactly does it mean to imply and to infer; can one use the word either in reference to more than two alternatives? Unable to find a single, concise guide to which he could refer to for such `troublesome words', Bryson contacted Penguin and offered to write one himself.

Troublesome Words, the 2001 revised and updated edition of Bryson's original 1984 book (The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words), is an A - Z guide to words and phrases commonly misused in print. Drawing from more than 40 respected works on linguistics, Bryson provides advice and suggestions to everyday grammatical problems and helpfully illustrates them with real-life examples of misuse. He explains that culminate, for example, "does not signify any result or outcome, but rather one marking a high point" and cites an a news clipping from The Times which reads "The company's financial troubles culminated in the resignation of the chairman last June". The example highlights Bryson's lesson. A series of financial gains could culminate in the chairman receiving a bonus but financial troubles do not culminate in a resignation. Helpfully, he not only warns against words that are used incorrectly, but also those which are often used redundantly, such as basically; a word which in most contexts "is basically unnecessary, as here."

Unfortunately, the somewhat narrow breadth of the guide does betray its (and Bryson's) Fleet Street origins. Almost every example of misuse hails from newspaper pieces and, furthermore, usually from the business pages. So Bryson provides the correct spelling for the name of the household products company, Procter & Gamble but no guide to using, for example, the word breadth, as appears at the top of this paragraph (incorrectly as it happens, the phrase used should be "narrow scope"). As such, one can't help but feel the dictionary would be improved by a slight shift in emphasis toward the general writer.

These are minor gripes though, and Bryson is both a thoughtful and entertaining guide. Without bloating the book he peppers his definitions with etymology, anecdotes and, where appropriate, his trademark dry humour. He tells us, for example, that "the belief that 'and' should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that's all there is to it"; and that "barbecue is the only acceptable spelling in serious writing. Any journalist or other formal user of English who believes that the word is spelled barbeque or, worse still, bar-b-q is not ready for unsupervised employment'. As such, Troublesome Words is one of those rare things: a reference work which can be dipped into time and again yet remains a pleasure when read cover-to-cover.

Better-than-average guide to pedantry., 13 Sep 2005
I usually loathe this kind of book, because many of the rules they perpetuate turn out to be arbitrary inventions of previous writers (or 19th century scholars obsessed with using Latin grammar in English). This book is refreshing because Bryson evaluates the rules laid down by previous "authorities" against practical criteria: particularly, will following this rule improve clarity?

Not your usual Bryson book, 07 Jun 2004
This is definitely a book to dip into at infrequent intervals rather than read from cover to cover. It is laid out like a dictionary which is perhaps what makes it rather "bitty". "Mother Tongue" is a much better read for those who want an insight into the English language.

The Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

Oxford Reverse Dictionary, 17 Feb 2003
The Oxford Reverse dictionary is designed to find the word you just can't recall from your memory. In theory it should help someone who cannot remember a specific word come up with the desired word. The book is designed for the reader to find a word through a linked heading. For instance, in theory on finds 'halter' under 'horse.' Unfortunately, words of a higher vocabulary level do not necessarily appear in the book. Therefore the dictionary is very limited and only advisable for school-aged children, and not for anyone of a university level or professional level.

a lovely and useful book, 02 Mar 2007
Yes, I want to say it is one of the best visual dictionary at present, roundly and detailedly. It could be the very convenient reference book to approach those complex and uncommon scientific Nouns. It is excellnet. But only one thing I want to emphaisze is that all the background is mere white, which obviously has been proven that is not very adapted to clearly show many light-colour pictures inside.

The Ultimate, 13 Jan 2004
This dictionary gives a wonderful 'insight' into things we sometimes take for granted. Step into this inside world and things will never be humdrum again.
This is an excellent reference book to have closeby as an aid with projects etc. It will greatly enhance your knowledge. The details are superb and the 'science bit' well explained. If you have this book on your shelf, buy it for someone else, they will thank you for it.

Great for Getting Kids Hooked on Books, 18 Mar 2003
This book has pretty much single-handedly got my toddler interested in books. It's perfectly designed to appeal to a wide range of kids from toddlers right through to the end of primary school.

It's not really a dictionary, more a visual encyclopaedia, arranged into a wide variety of topics like The Human Body, Transport, and Musical Instruments. Every page comes crammed with photographs and hig