This thousand‐plus paged floppy heavyweight is an impressive work. It contains over 24,000 entries and 27,000 senses of idiomatic phrases, proverbial expressions, and clichés, giving definitions and examples. Additionally there is an index giving 60,000 keywords. I cannot say, for sure that this is the fullest dictionary of its kind, but it could well be. The impressively low price, in itself, will appeal, but I must stress the massive scale and coverage of the work, and its excellent presentation.
The compiler gives an excellent account of why such a dictionary is needed: “All languages have phrases that cannot be understood literally and, therefore, cannot be used with confidence. They are opaque or unpredictable because they do not have expected, literal meaning. Even if you know the meaning of all the words in a phrase and understand all the grammar of the phrase completely, the meaning of the phrase may still be confusing. A phrase or sentence of this type is said to be idiomatic. This dictionary is a collection of the idiomatic phrases and sentences that occur frequently in American English”. Such precise and lucid English characterises this book.
The dictionary is divided into two parts. The larger part of 782 pages carries the main A to Z sequence of idioms and phrases. The first entry is A for Effort, which is described as an acknowledgement for having tried to do something, even if it not successful. Typically you get an A for effort, or you give someone A for effort. An example of use is given, namely, “The plan didn't work, but I'll give you A for effort for trying”. The third entry in the dictionary is the proverbial phrase “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here”. The meaning is given; we are told it is often used in a jocular fashion; it is the English translation of the words on the gate of Hell in Dante's Inferno; and a modern example of use is given: “This is our cafeteria. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!” The second example is a cross‐reference: “A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Go to You got to do what you got to do”. Unlike my transcriptions, the headwords are given in bold type and modern examples of usage are in italics – indeed the page layouts are so clear that navigation is “a breeze”. The prose, too, is succinct and clear, easily used by anyone: “Go to” rather than “see”, and “A bit formal” rather than just “Formal”. Coverage is wide and modern. Although “commode‐hugging drunk” (don't ask!) is maybe US rather than UK, the rubric “American” can be ignored; only for the older phrases will enquirers need to consult other sources. Derivations are not, generally, featured.
The second part of the book, with grey page fore‐edges for quick access, is the Phrase‐Finder Index. This consists of some 300 triple‐columned pages of all the significant words featured in the 27,000 idioms and phrases of the main dictionary sequence. Thus: “man. A man's gotta to do [etc.]”; “do. A man's gotta [etc.]”; “got. A man's gotta [etc.]”; but no entry for “gotta”! (The use of the indefinite article as the filing term is a touch unfortunate here, but the principle is clear.) In the second example, “abandon”, “all”, “enter”, “here”, “hope” and “who” are all listed in this index and all include “Abandon hope [etc.]” as one of the many phrases in which the word appears. This is what used to be called a “KWOC” index – Keyword Out of Context, i.e. the keyword transferred to the front as a filing term. It is perhaps overdone here, there are seven columns, c.500 mentions of the word “it”, but since the clarity is exemplary, it does not matter.
The rather cluttered front cover and the unnecessary pedagogic glosses (“To the learner”, “To the teacher”) are a slight irritant, but nothing can detract from this amazingly comprehensive, modern, and accessible dictionary. Strongly recommended.
