It was a privilege to review this book. I suppose it will be hard to topple Oxford University Press from top place in the dictionary stakes, but if anyone can, Chambers can. First published in 2004, this second edition is a serious contender. “The focus of this … dictionary”, state the editors, “remains strongly on language as it is written and spoken today”. The cover blurb (the information is not repeated in the book itself – so keep the dust jacket folks!) tells us that this new edition has been created from Chambers Wordtrack, a year‐round programme that monitors the latest words and meanings to arrive in the English language, and that it is also backed by the Chambers Harrap International Corpus (CHIC) which contains almost a billion words of current written and spoken English.
I have a problem over the title word “concise”. At close on 1,500 B4‐sized pages, “concise” is not a word I would have used. The Dictionary itself defines “concise” as “brief but comprehensive”, the same, incidentally as my similarly‐sized Oxford English Reference Dictionary (Pearsall and Trumble, 2002) (RR 2003/292). I agree that the word definitions are commendably brief and succinct, and with many tens of thousands of words covered, the dictionary is commendably comprehensive. But “brief” is defined as “short or small”, so there is a case to argue. To be noted, though, is the even larger Chambers Dictionary (RR 2009/220), Chambers' “flagship” to use the editors' phrase. (Sadly I could find no library locally with this title to see how it compared with the “concise” version reviewed here.)
We start with the usual prefatory matter: Using the Dictionary; Model Dictionary Layout; Abbreviations used; and Pronunciation guide (to a simplified version of the International Phonetic Alphabet). All these are pretty clear. The layout of the entries is typical of the better dictionaries. Thus Buster, a noun, is a North American slang form of address (often used aggressively) for a man or boy, as in “Hey Buster, get your hands off her!” Ferris Wheel, a noun, is a “giant fairground wheel that turns vertically, with seats hanging from its rim. [Late 19c: named after GWG Ferris (1859‐96), US engineer]”; the pronunciation using the IPA is given. Matter has nine definitions as a noun and two as a verb. (I have “prosified” entries a little, though the abbreviations used are not a problem.) Most headwords contain pronunciation, parts of speech, definitions, and word history. In addition, entries may contain words derived from the headword, idioms, phrasal verbs, usage notes, alternative forms, inflections, classification labels, grammatical information, examples of words in use, cross‐references and panels. Panels give practical recommendations on how to use words correctly. Examples are Media; Inhuman versus Inhumane; Less versus Fewer; Scots/Scotch/Scottish; the uses of a colon; and the precise meanings of Britain/British/British Isles/Great Britain/United Kingdom. This is all useful stuff. Headwords and keywords embedded in the text are printed in dark blue type which stands out well from the black typeface of the entries.
On coverage, the page containing Ferris Wheel also contains the familiar and expected: Ferment, Fern, Ferocious and Ferret. Less common, but exactly the sort of lesser‐used words we would expect from a heavyweight dictionary, are Feng Shui, Fenian, Fennel, Feoffee, Feral, Fermi and Ferric. Unknown to me were Fennec, Fenugreek, Fenny, Fer‐de‐Lance, Feretory, Ferial, Fernbird, Ferrate and Ferriage. Clearly the Chambers Harrap International Corpus goes to many recondite places but such words are an illustration of the comprehensive coverage of this dictionary. Unlike some of the competitor dictionaries, personal and place names are not featured; the drift into “encyclopedia” mode is resisted.
No dictionary would be complete without its “add‐ons”. The endpapers feature a Language Lovers' Miscellany consisting of twenty‐five language‐related listings such as French, German and Latin words and phrases used in English; the Greek, Russian and Arabic alphabets; British and American sign language and Braille alphabets; NATO phonic alphabet; Morse and semaphore codes; collective names for animals, etc. Less linguistic are the books of the Bible, wine bottle sizes, military ranks, Jewish, Islamic and Hindu calendars, the chemical elements, the plays of Shakespeare and an A‐Z list of phobias. Some proverbs and similes are listed too, although the two latter listings are rather brief. Hmm!
Additionally, a wrapper and inside cover introduce us to the new Chambers Reference Online, a combination of Chambers Dictionary and Chambers Thesaurus Online. This is “the one‐stop shop for all your English reference needs”. It is said to contain over 900,000 words, phrases, meanings and synonyms, new content, real‐life spoken pronunciation, innovative crossword‐solving functions, and extra material to assist with the practical uses of English. It is a subscription service though purchasers of this hardcopy dictionary can get six months free. See www.chambersreference.com for more details.
The Preface, in establishing the character and uniqueness of Chambers Concise Dictionary, notes that “it contains a sprinkling of humorous definitions to amuse users who come across them. It is with such pleasing features that Chambers maintains its unique identity among dictionaries”. I am still looking for the laughs but they are not necessary. The richness of our everyday (and not‐so‐everyday) language, from Aardvark to Zymotic, and the clarity of this work's presentation, is such that no gimmicks are needed. Thankfully there is no “zzz … ”! This is a dictionary of high quality production, comprehensive, easy to use with useful notes, and very reasonably priced. Get it, whatever your specialism or clientele!
Now then, shall I discard my faithful Oxford (in favour of this Chambers? There is a question! Logic suggests that I should.
