 Trade In this Item for up to £0.45
Trade in The Chambers Dictionary Thumb Index, 11th edition for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.45, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
Chambers is my dictionary of choice and always has been, because its
practice is to detail a word's etymology with clarity, brevity and
exactness, so that to look up a word in Chambers is to be able to
unpack its meaning and also to marvel at its compactness... Chambers is
an open door to words at their wittiest, most rooted, most reavealing
and most powerful.
It's good to see that the latest, 11th, edition of Chambers Dictionary has lost none of its wit.
(Mark Sanderson, Literary Life, Telegraph.co.uk )It's official! The credit crunch has finally found its way into the hallowed columns of this iconic work of reference...
Hats off, incidentally, to the editor who archly defines 'comfort food' as 'mood-enhancing food that meets the approval of one's taste buds but not of one's doctor'.
Chambers is the one I keep at my right hand
Product Description
A newer edition of The Chambers Dictionary is available:
Copy and paste the ISBN number into the search bar to find the 12th edition of the Chambers Dictionary
- Thumb indexed version: 9780550102379
- Standard version: 9780550102416
The Chambers Dictionary is the dictionary of choice for all word lovers and crossword enthusiasts. It is known for its comprehensive coverage of English and for its tradition of including the occasional light-hearted definition in its pages. Alone among modern single-volume dictionaries, it retains an interest in the past as well as the present, offering a rich stock of words from our literary heritage as well as covering recent developments in English.
For this 11th edition the text has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest changes in our language, with special attention being given to reflecting current pronunciation and vocabulary.
(20081010)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Chambers has long been the dictionary of choice for contemporary authors, lovers of word-games, crosswords and the like, and the eleventh edition, published last year (2008) has been well worth waiting for. It is a worthy successor to `Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary' which first saw the light of day in 1901. There will always be partisans who favour one dictionary over another and `The Oxford Dictionary of English' will be an unequalled favourite of many, but I find the two books complement one another - I keep a copy of each to hand and both are well-used. Any dictionary must be selective and Chambers has naturally dropped some words that are past their sell-by date in favour of more useful innovations. Jeremy Paxman's amusing foreword will introduce you to some of each. There are the usual preliminaries and some useful-looking tables at the end which I may be grateful for one day if I remember what and where they are.
I suppose some might cavil that in this electronic age, reference books are relics of a bygone age, but Chambers' often quirky wit makes this a delightful book to curl up with and delve into as well as being an invaluable reference work, always provided that you have adequate support for such a hefty tome. Its nearly 5lb (2.3kg) weight is another reason (besides price) for having it delivered to your door via Amazon rather than having to lug it home yourself. However, the Internet community is not overlooked and, with a nod to bogof shopping bargains, purchase of this hard-back dictionary brings with it a bonus six-monthly subscription to both `The Chambers Dictionary' and `The Chambers Thesaurus' on-line.
The quality of printing, selection of paper and clarity of fonts don't impose any undue strain on my not-so-young-as-they-were eyes. If I were to make the choice again, which I may well do when the 12th edition appears, I would forego the thumb indexing. I am familiar with the English alphabet and the grouping of indented letters seems to have been chosen rather to equalise the intervals than to facilitate one's arrival at one's destination.
It is a possession to enjoy and worth waiting for, because ... you are worth it!
I suppose some might cavil that in this electronic age, reference books are relics of a bygone age, but Chambers' often quirky wit makes this a delightful book to curl up with and delve into as well as being an invaluable reference work, always provided that you have adequate support for such a hefty tome. Its nearly 5lb (2.3kg) weight is another reason (besides price) for having it delivered to your door via Amazon rather than having to lug it home yourself. However, the Internet community is not overlooked and, with a nod to bogof shopping bargains, purchase of this hard-back dictionary brings with it a bonus six-monthly subscription to both `The Chambers Dictionary' and `The Chambers Thesaurus' on-line.
The quality of printing, selection of paper and clarity of fonts don't impose any undue strain on my not-so-young-as-they-were eyes. If I were to make the choice again, which I may well do when the 12th edition appears, I would forego the thumb indexing. I am familiar with the English alphabet and the grouping of indented letters seems to have been chosen rather to equalise the intervals than to facilitate one's arrival at one's destination.
It is a possession to enjoy and worth waiting for, because ... you are worth it!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
This is by far the best dictionary around. Not as comprehensive as Oxford's for the sheer amount of words contained but who cares. This dictionary takes out all the unnecessarily confusing stuff and keeps in all the interesting words and descriptions. The thumb index system is a revelation. Speeds up the word finding process by 10. The page design is also equally well thought out too. Words are done in an easy to read black bold style. Perfect viewing size even if you're half blind like me and not that horrible day-glow blue colour text another dictionary uses which makes my eyes go dizzy. Overall the dictionary doesn't put a foot wrong. It's like Oxford's eccentric, smarter, cooler and classier cousin. So go buy!!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
I have owned two Chambers Dictionaries over the past thirty years being a cryptic crossword addict and a lover of the English Language. This latest edition is wonderful value and so comprehensive
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dictionary
I am asked to review a dictionary?
It seems alright so far, but I haven't read it all the way through yet!
Ask me again in about 10 years.
It seems alright so far, but I haven't read it all the way through yet!
Ask me again in about 10 years.
Published 16 months ago by Mr. Richard Noyes
Crosswords
This an excellent dictionary for all purposes but especially for those that solve crosswords. Big savings on bookshop price.
Published 18 months ago by polly
A cryptic dictionary. I need definitions, not riddles!
Very disappointed with this edition. My parents own the Chambers 21st edition and it's far superior to this. Read more
Published 19 months ago by a person
Nice book, shame about the packaging
The dictionary is everything one expects from Chambers, but Amazon's packaging was so inadequate that the book arrived damaged. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Disappointed Customer
Backbone Dictionary For All Homes
I got this for an acquaintance.
Already have the 6th edition (1992).
The only thing wrong with this dictionary is the use of recycled paper - which makes prolonged use a... Read more
Already have the 6th edition (1992).
The only thing wrong with this dictionary is the use of recycled paper - which makes prolonged use a... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2010 by TREX
Chambers Dictionary, Thumb Index
I am delighted with this pristine cellophane wrapped book and the Appendices are an unexpected bonus. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by Sue Cook
A great dictionary
If you think dictionaries are boring, think again. This is so easy to use with the thumb index and browsing is a joy - pick up swathes of information you never knew you wanted. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2009 by J. Jacques
It's better than the rest
We like doing crosswords and polywords, and have been looking to update our Chambers 20th Century Dictionary which we've had since 1982. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2009 by R. I. Gilliver
crossword fanatic
Purchase made as a present for my mother to replace identical dictionary which had been used so much it had fallen apart. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by Daphne
THE dictionary
In 1978 I went to UCL and bought one of these when I heard that it was Frank Kermode's favourite dictionary (he was head of the English department). Then I bought the 1988 edition. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2009 by Fuficius Fango
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
