Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary » (3RD)

Are you exerting your corrugator overmuch trying to remember what to call more than one ferret? This combination of a reverse dictionary and thesaurus groups terms by basic themes, making it easy to find that ferrets in a communal situation constitute a "business." The groups include animals, architecture, clothing, electronics, finance, the human body, language, medicine, the military, music, performing arts, the physical sciences, religion, sports, tools, transportation, and weapons, with categories such as British terms, Internet chatting, and street slang added for this edition. The book is rounded out with an index that helps readers locate words they think they might know, and a list of words and expressions that they really should know. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Divided into 22 categories, each with numerous subcategories, this book simply lists and defines technical terms. Although trying to be exhaustive, especially in the natural sciences, sports, and military, it omits various essential terms ( chiaroscuro and pointillism under ``Art,'' comps and wings under ``Stage and Theater,'' levels under ``Radio,'' op-ed under ``Journalism,'' split under ``Bottles and Glasses,'' etc.). It can be helpful for unfamiliar areas but sketchy and idiosyncratic for familiar ones. Still, this reference could be useful, along with a thesaurus, for a precise writer. Appropriate for public libraries.-- Kitty Chen Dean, Nassau Coll., Garden City, N.Y.