Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate »

Eugene Ehrlich wrote and edited numerous reference books on language, including the original Oxford American Dictionary and Amo, Amas, Amat and More.

Anyone looking to improve his or her vocabulary and anyone who loves words will be enthralled by this unique and impressive thesaurus that provides only the most unusual — or is it recondite? —words for each entry.

Library Journal

Ehrlich, coeditor of the Oxford American Dictionary, here indulges his obvious love of uncommon words with a short list of terms paired with an idiosyncratic selection of synonyms. Containing fewer than 8000 entries and illustrated with amusing line drawings, it is a fun book to browse. A majority of the entries give only a single synonym, which could be found in a standard paperback thesaurus. While it is intriguing to scan the bizarre and unfamiliar synonyms chosen, the size and selectivity of this work limit its usefulness. Browsers and word collectors will have fun with this little book, but writers and speakers searching for the right word will be better served by a more comprehensive and less quirky thesaurus.-Paul D'Alessandro, Portland P.L., Me.