You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#61

Post by blago » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 4:57 PM UTC

novaleaf wrote: post #54

blago wrote: post #51

Back in 2014, this article inspired me to write an iOS app. I took a few weekends putting most of my efforts into formatting and readability. Just when I was ready to release, I got really busy at work. Weeks became months, and months became years. By the time I got back to it last year, Xcode wouldn't compile it anymore. To my dismay, I also discovered that a number of other apps had been launched. After fretting a…

This seems to be a real labor of love for you. It must be slightly traumatic seeing your first review of the app: > 1/5 stars: Missing many basic words. Seems like a phishing app I don't think your target audience is those looking for dictionaries. LoL

Haha, I try to stay above things :-)

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#62

Post by bryal » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

aasasd wrote: post #31

Thankfully Wiktionary imported wholesale the old Webster's dictionary (due partly to it being in the public domain). It has the same multitude of meanings and examples, including those from the article. On top, of course, it's updated for very modern language and with quotations from literature and journalism closer to us in time. Which is why I have three different methods for quick lookup in Wiktionary in the deskt…

Wiktionary is great! I'm interested in etymology, and my mind frequently wanders to thoughts like "I wonder what the origin of the 'pseudo-' prefix is." or "I wonder if the english word 'sea' and the swedish word 'sjö' are related - they seem quite similar.". More often than not, wikitionary has the answer - and a good, detailed one at that!

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#63

Post by neosat » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 5:22 PM UTC

blago wrote: post #51

Back in 2014, this article inspired me to write an iOS app. I took a few weekends putting most of my efforts into formatting and readability. Just when I was ready to release, I got really busy at work. Weeks became months, and months became years. By the time I got back to it last year, Xcode wouldn't compile it anymore. To my dismay, I also discovered that a number of other apps had been launched. After fretting a…

Thanks for putting this together. Downloaded and like it quite a bit so far! Will rate 5 on the app store too.

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#64

Post by everybodyknows » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 5:30 PM UTC

mrob wrote: post #57

tptacek wrote: post #42

If you like Webster's, Garner's Modern American Usage will blow your head off.

The latest edition covers non-American English too, so it's now "Garner's Modern English Usage". I first learned of this book from David Foster Wallace's review of the first edition in Harper's Magazine: https://www.webcitation.org/6FU8Zx2N0?url=http://instruct.we... I agree it is excellent, and Wallace's review is also worth reading.

Wallace mentions American Heritage, as strictest of the prescriptivists. Highly usable online version:

https://ahdictionary.com/

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#65

Post by ytwj » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 5:34 PM UTC

A good dictionary and thesaurus are really useful. But you also want to surround yourself with reference books that reward idle noodling. Here are two of my favorites.

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. You can pick up old editions dirt cheap on the usual sites. Here's the wikipedia entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewer%27s_Dictionary_of_Phras...

A Dictionary of metaphor. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Metaphors-Dictionary-Comparative-in...

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#66

Post by blaze33 » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 5:47 PM UTC

I'll also mention the urban dictionary when looking up recently made up words.

Also, learning different languages usually reveals that you cannot think in the same way when using different languages. So you may end up creating new words to describe ideas the other language doesn't convey.

Anyway, languages keep evolving all the time ;)

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#67

Post by hammock » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 6:02 PM UTC

lisper wrote: post #60

> Recall that the New Oxford, for the word “fustian,” gives “pompous or pretentious speech or writing.” I said earlier that that wasn’t even really correct. Here, then, is Webster’s definition: “An inflated style of writing; a kind of writing in which high-sounding words are used, above the dignity of the thoughts or subject; bombast.” Do you see the difference? What makes fustian fustian is not just that the languag…

>using fancy language where fancy language isn’t called for

That's not what "pompous" means but it is exactly what "pretentious" means. For some reason OP ignored that part of the definition.

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#68

Post by aasasd » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 6:07 PM UTC

bryal wrote: post #62

aasasd wrote: post #31

Thankfully Wiktionary imported wholesale the old Webster's dictionary (due partly to it being in the public domain). It has the same multitude of meanings and examples, including those from the article. On top, of course, it's updated for very modern language and with quotations from literature and journalism closer to us in time. Which is why I have three different methods for quick lookup in Wiktionary in the deskt…

Wiktionary is great! I'm interested in etymology, and my mind frequently wanders to thoughts like "I wonder what the origin of the 'pseudo-' prefix is." or "I wonder if the english word 'sea' and the swedish word 'sjö' are related - they seem quite similar.". More often than not, wikitionary has the answer - and a good, detailed one at that!

In case Wiktionary fails, you can try https://www.etymonline.com ― it's especially has more info on figurative phrases instead of individual words, and has dates when a word or a phrase entered the usage (according to records).

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#69

Post by majormajor » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 6:09 PM UTC

ppod wrote: post #35

Did anyone else find the writing in this post almost unbearable? It's deliberately showy in a way while also seeming self-conscious about being perceived as pretentious. The predictable dig at modernist architecture is exactly what I expect from this kind of prescriptive aesthetic paternalism.

Is this an intentionally ironically styled comment? Serious question.

Re: You’re probably using the wrong dictionary (2014)

#70

Post by majormajor » Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 6:10 PM UTC

astazangasta wrote: post #43

I cant believe no one has mentioned the great secret of writers: Brewer's dictionary of Phrase and Fable. This is the dictionary you read for fun, the one which sends you on rabbit holes of cross referencing, the one that gives you new ideas, stories, characters. You are missing out as a writer without it.

Came here to add a comment about this as well. Got pointed in its direction by a Terry Pratchett essay, fantastically interesting. He said something along the lines of "it's not the dictionary you pull out to find a specific fact, but the one you pull out to learn something you didn't realize you were interested in," IIRC.