My grandfather always had a dictionary on his night table. I have one on my Apple laptop. His was a so-called “pocket” book almost as thick as it was wide; mine is virtual, an application represented by the icon below in the dock of programs and folders at the right of my computer screen.
The lure of Dictionary is strong. Enter a word, and it not only returns a definition
and usage from The New Oxford American Dictionary but synonyms from The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus and, if you’re connected to the Internet, a Wikipedia entry (or disambiguation page) as well. It’s a ridiculously quick and comprehensive research tool — as well as a microcosm of the paragon of potential procrastination that is the Web itself, since hyperlinks abound and the results list for any given word is often fascinating. I’m pretty disciplined about not following flights of fancy too far, although I admit to indulging spontaneous bouts of “Hey, I wonder...” entirely unrelated to what I’m working on, because suddenly the answer seems gravely important and if I don’t at least type the relevant word or phrase into Dictionary’s search field to read up on later then I might forget. Other people for whom frivolous research is considered fun will be able to relate. For the rest of you, well, I can’t really explain it if you don’t already understand.
Examples:
