DICTIONARY DISTRACTIONS

(re-post)

I am aware that something called a SpellCheck (or is that, quirkily and tongue-in-cheek, SpelChek?) is somewhere in PerCy's bag of tools but so far I have not searched it out. It's one of those things that when I need it I don't feel like taking the time and effort to find and when I don't need it - well, you know what I am saying. When I need to check a spelling I twist to the left and stretch out where two dictionaries and two thesaurus (thesauruses - hmmm, I could check on this....) are in a pile on the filing cabinet. An old Pocket Oxford is usually on top and first choice: it looks exactly like the one I had all through high school, compact, seriously navy blue, the spine cover pulling away from the spine with tattered threads, and bits of papers with notes sticking out the ends. It even has a name written on the flyleaf: but not mine (which leads me to wonder if my old one is doing service for someone somewhere).

Often I claim I am "lazy" and do not look up a spelling or clarify a meaning, let it stand as it fell firstly from my fingers on the keyboard, assume my claim is some sort of a (dis)claim(er) of intent that will protect the quality of my literary skills. The truth of the matter is - I get distracted when I use a dictionary and thus may choose to let a word stand, queried but unverified, rather than risk not finishing a letter because I have run out of time with Oxford- trekking.

F'r'instance, the other day I was looking up pejorative - this for inclusion in correspondence with someone not familiar enough to plead laziness: the word didn't look quite right; purjorative? pajuritive? prejaritive? The confusion of inventive creativity got me PocOx. I like to hold a dictionary (and this with a phone book as well) and decide at what level the first letter will occur, then plunge my thumbnail in and see what presents. I have been enough times close enough - on a few occasions on the exact page! - to indulge in this fun practise. This time I was a few letters off, not to mention pages, but the word in top right hand corner was metonymy and I spent some time reading the definition and then some further time deciphering what exactly it meant. It isn't a word that is now just waiting on my use in a sentence either in print or conversation. And a day or so from now I may recall that the relationship between the words 'king' and 'crown' has a word describing this but be darned if I can remember what it is.... I may satisfy myself with the knowledge that if I really want to know, I can check out this site.
But whatever, I enjoyed shaking hands with a brand new word.
Oh - by the by - none of my spellings for pejorative was in Poxy so I did what I then do next - I called the Public Library and a very nice librarian confirmed my first attempt.

Posted on December 06, 2004 at 10:53 AM | Permalink

I am aware that something called a SpellCheck (or is that, quirkily and tongue-in-cheek, SpelChek?) is somewhere in PerCy's bag of tools but so far I have not searched it out. It's one of those things that when I need it I don't feel like taking the time and effort to find and when I don't need it - well, you know what I am saying. When I need to check a spelling I twist to the left and stretch out where two dictionaries and two thesaurus (thesauruses - hmmm, I could check on this....) are in a pile on the filing cabinet. An old Pocket Oxford is usually on top and first choice: it looks exactly like the one I had all through high school, compact, seriously navy blue, the spine cover pulling away from the spine with tattered threads, and bits of papers with notes sticking out the ends. It even has a name written on the flyleaf: but not mine (which leads me to wonder if my old one is doing service for someone somewhere).

Often I claim I am "lazy" and do not look up a spelling or clarify a meaning, let it stand as it fell firstly from my fingers on the keyboard, assume my claim is some sort of a (dis)claim(er) of intent that will protect the quality of my literary skills. The truth of the matter is - I get distracted when I use a dictionary and thus may choose to let a word stand, queried but unverified, rather than risk not finishing a letter because I have run out of time with Oxford- trekking.

F'r'instance, the other day I was looking up pejorative - this for inclusion in correspondence with someone not familiar enough to plead laziness: the word didn't look quite right; purjorative? pajuritive? prejaritive? The confusion of inventive creativity got me PocOx. I like to hold a dictionary (and this with a phone book as well) and decide at what level the first letter will occur, then plunge my thumbnail in and see what presents. I have been enough times close enough - on a few occasions on the exact page! - to indulge in this fun practise. This time I was a few letters off, not to mention pages, but the word in top right hand corner was metonymy and I spent some time reading the definition and then some further time deciphering what exactly it meant. It isn't a word that is now just waiting on my use in a sentence either in print or conversation. And a day or so from now I may recall that the relationship between the words 'king' and 'crown' has a word describing this but be darned if I can remember what it is.... I may satisfy myself with the knowledge that if I really want to know, I can check out this site.
But whatever, I enjoyed shaking hands with a brand new word.
Oh - by the by - none of my spellings for pejorative was in Poxy so I did what I then do next - I called the Public Library and a very nice librarian confirmed my first attempt.