I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m in love with thesauri (or thesauruses) and interesting lexicons. My husband knows, but he’s not the jealous type. In fact, he gifted me my first thesaurus—an ancient Soule’s—before we were married. It’s a treasured relic I still have almost fifty years later. (And him.) In the meantime, I’ve collected some interesting others over the years. (Not husbands.) And the internet has exploded with many you can have at your fingertips when looking for a more exact or exciting word than say—writer. For example, scribbler, quill-driver, inkster, amanuensis, bricoleur, or jarkman.
Suppose I describe something as perfectly fine. I might think, well that’s a pretty vague way of putting it. How can it be made snazzier? Or more precise? It’s at such times that I turn to my bookshelf full of thesauri (or my computer) for a phrase, or synonym that will enliven the line, make it more musical, or more precise. Below are a few favorite thesauri and lexicons you may want to take a gander at. (As they say in Aw, Shucks! The Dictionary of Country Jawing.) These are physical books I have on my shelf, but many similar ones can be accessed online.
Thesauri and lexicons as prompt generators
And guess what? Thesauri and lexicons are useful for more than simply looking up synonyms. I like to fondle my thesauri and lexicons. (I don’t think that’s illegal.) Whenever I do, I’m always surprised by what phrase or word will pop out to inspire the start of a story, or a poem. When I use online resources I have to type in a specific search. Sure, there is some serendipity involved online by scrolling—but often it can be limited.
Random searching through some of the following titles can spark great writing prompts. How about this one? Can you combine these three elements in a story/poem?
- Yap Wagon: a bus full of gambling tourists
- Resurrectionists: grave robbers
- Palatyi (Bantu): a mythical monster that scratches at the door
Try playing with thesauri. Mixing up lexicons. My ancient Soule’s grown soft with use, and had its spine operated on numerous times, but it always seems to welcome my perusal of its pages and snuggles comfortably into the palm of my hand. It helped me write this perfectly fine—consummately clear—post.
A few fun thesauri and lexicons:
- Aw, Shucks! The Dictionary of Country Jawing by Anne Bertram
- The Dimwit’s Dictionary by Robert Hartwell Fiske
- Straight From the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang by Max Décharné
- How to Talk American by Jim “the Mad Monk” Crotty
- Straight from the Horse’s Mouth by Richard A. Spears
- Crime Dictionary by Ralph De Sola
- Medieval Wordbook by Madeleine Pelner Cosman
- Forgotten English by Jeffery Kacirk
- Mobspeak: The Dictionary of Crime Terms by Carl Sifakis
- The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
- They Have a Word for It by Howard Rheingold
- Cajun Dictionary by James N. Sothern
- O Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun by Willard Espy
Let us know what some oddball thesauri or favorite lexicons you have on your shelf, or bookmarked on your computer. Share the fun!
Lee Gramling
My Thesaurus is an old Roget’s (copyright 1972) which is falling apart and could probably use re-stitching (if I could let it go for long enough). If memory serves, it’s the third one I’ve owned and all of them came to pieces. I also have a dictionary-style one that I almost never touch, and a Dictionary of American Slang which is nearly as useless. I’ve found that — apart from the thesaurus — the best source of “period” expressions are published works and unpublished letters/diaries from the period I’m writing about. Fortunately, I grew up speaking “Cracker,” so that needs no special research.
Shutta Crum
Yes!
Peggy Lantz
I have How to Talk Southern, as well as Roget’s (fifth printing of the 1946 edition), which my father-in-law gave me.