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Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language
 
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Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language (Hardcover)

by Jack Lynch (Editor)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 656 pages
  • Publisher: Atlantic Books (14 Oct 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 184354296X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843542964
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 4.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 424,818 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description

Samuel Johnson's 1755 two volume, 2,300 page dictionary marked a milestone in language. The work of a great reader and writer, and an earnest compiler, it was England's definitive dictionary for over 150 years until it was superseded by The Oxford English Dictionary. This new edition contains more than 3,100 selections faithfully adapted from the original. Bristling with quotations, the Dictionary offers a treasury of memorable passages on subjects ranging from books and critics to dreams and ethics. For those who appreciate literature and love language, this is a browser's delight - an encyclopaedia of the age and a dictionary for the ages. fribbler n.s. [from the verb.] A trifler A fribbler is one who professes rapture for the woman, and dreads her consent. Spectator No. 288 to lisp v.n. [hlisp, Saxon.] To speak with too frequent applauses of the tongue to the teeth or palate, like children. Come, I cannot cog, and say, thou art this and that, like a many of these lisping hawthorn buds, that come like women in mens apparel and smell like Bucklersbury in sampling time. Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor urinator n.s. [Urinateur, Fr. Urinator, Lat.] A diver; one who searches under water. The precious things that grow there, as pearl, may be much more easily fetched up by the help of this, than by any other way of urinators. Wilkins Math. Magic. abnormous adj. [abnormis, Lat. Our of rule] Irregular, misshapen. Afterclap n.s. Unexpected events happening after an affair is supposed to be at an end.

About the Author

Jack Lynch is a professor of English at Rutgers University and a Johnson scholar. He is the author of The Age of Elizabeth in the Age of Johnson and the editor of A Bibliography of Johnsonian Studies, 1986-1998. He also serves as joint editor of The Age of Johnson: A Scholarly Annual.

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5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dip and enjoy!, 16 July 2006
By Ralph Blumenau (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
Henry Hitchings, in his brilliant `Dr Johnson's Dictionary' (see my review), recommends this abridged edition of the Dictionary. It, too, is a treat for all who love words and are interested in the 18th century. It reproduces more than 3,000 entries of the 42,733 in the original First Edition. It includes: the Plan that Johnson originally submitted to the Earl of Chesterfield (15 pages), from which, however, he was to deviate later in several important respects; Johnson's splendid Preface (20 pages); Lynch's own excellent Introduction (21 pages); 19 pages of Lynch's notes on those entries for which he felt a special explanation was necessary; and some very useful appendices. One lists (play by play) all the words in this edition for whose illustrations Johnson quoted plays by Shakespeare; another does the same for other authors (author by author - including the Bible); and a third, subject by subject, of what Lynch calls `piquant terms'. These include nearly three columns of `Inkhorn Terms', which would make for a splendid party game in which particpants would be invited to guess their meaning. (Here is a taster, a selection from from just two letters: macilent, mactation, macilent, madefy, maffle, malvaceous, maritated, meracious, moky, morigerous, multiscious, mundivagant, mundungus, mussitation, mynchen, nimiety, nombles, nosology, nosopoetick, nubble, nummery, nuncupative.) This is all great fun; but there also is a lot of serious pleasure to be gained from dipping into this book for Johnson's definitions and for the examples he has culled from his wide reading. (It is a pity, though, that he did not specify more closely the place where his sources are to be found - partly, no doubt, as Hitchings explained, because Johnson often quoited from memory. For Biblical sources he does usually quote chapter and verse. Sometimes he does the same for Milton, but mostly not. Where his source is named simply `Shakespeare' or `Shak.Tit.And.', we could of course consult a Shakespeare Concordance for the precise place. But where there are no Concordances, a bare reference to `Dryd' or to `Swift' is a little frustrating. Another opportunity, perhaps, for a party game among the learnéd?)
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars sumptuously produced volume, 30 Oct 2004
By Gavin Wilson - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This 650-page book devotes over 500 of its pages to providing selections from Johnson's 2300-page epic. The rest of the space is taken up with advice on how to read the dictionary, and an index to the various literary quotations Johnson cites. The book has been available in the States for a couple of years, and now it comes to Britain. It's much more interesting than you might think!
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Now includes Sausage, 9 Aug 2005
By Chris Allsopp "f1moose" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The first word I checked was Sausage, bieng a "Black Adder" fan, and it's in there. Oats is a great deffinition, "In England fed to horses, and in Scotland fed to the people".

A wonderful read, and such a significant book, the English language is wonderful, so let's celebrate it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but limited
Beautifully produced and a great starting place for anyone curious about Johnson's famous dictionary. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2007 by David Benson

4.0 out of 5 stars where are the paroxytones?
An amusing book of well-chosen extracts from Johnson's original work, but marred by some careless misprints (e.g. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2007 by Graham Asher

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