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Thread: dictionary

  1. #1
    Ink Blot
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    dictionary

    Hello I'm both new to this site and to writing. At the moment I write letters, to do this or to find people to write to, I go on the numerous penpal sites. My writing is slowly becoming more of an essay than a personal letter so I want to develop this. Over the years I'ave gradually gone from not having a dictionary to having a Collins Advanced learners dictionary installed onto the hard drive on my laptop which is suppose to speed up getting a word definition. I'ave been trying to check out what is available in dictionaries on goggle and will probably subscribe to the ODO Pro.Now I would like to discuss dictionaries with anyone to find how to use a dictionary properly.
    Mickmc

  2. #2
    Profound Writer Bloggsworth's Avatar
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    The paradox of using a dictionary well is that if you don't know the word and/or can't spell it, how do you look it up. Read a lot and when you come across a word that you don't know, look it up. One good dictionary is enough, too many will only serve confuse you.
    A man in possession of a wooden spoon must be in want of a pot to stir.

  3. #3
    WF Veteran Nickie's Avatar
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    That's a sound comment, Bloggsworth. As a teacher I can recommend one reads a lot, and as a result your spelling and grammar will broaden. If you don't understand a word, its meaning can be learnt from the context (the words or phrases surrounding it). And btw, welcome to the forums, Mickmc.

  4. #4
    Forum Moderator bazz cargo's Avatar
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    Hi Mick,
    I'm reading a page a day out of my Collins dictionary. Don't spoil the ending please.
    Welcome to the Forum.
    The Dark Art Of Posting. A useful thread!
    http://www.writingforums.com/writers...t-posting.html
    I have a wooden spoon and I'm not afraid to use it.

  5. #5
    Ink Blot
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nickie View Post
    That's a sound comment, Bloggsworth. As a teacher I can recommend one reads a lot, and as a result your spelling and grammar will broaden. If you don't understand a word, its meaning can be learnt from the context (the words or phrases surrounding it). And btw, welcome to the forums, Mickmc.

  6. #6
    WF Veteran Bilston Blue's Avatar
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    A warm welcome to the site, mickmc, and a hearty round of applause for your efforts with the dictionary. The number of people who turn up here not knowing their hairs from their heirs, or their they'res from their there's, is quite astounding. I commend you. The dictionary is an important tool for a writer, for an aspiring writer an essential one; imagine a carpenter turning up to erect the timber frame of a roof, and he turns up without a ladder!

    It's the thing which bugs me most, and sorry for hijacking your introduction to get these things of my chest.

    Have fun on the site, and I hope you get from it what you desire.

    BB
    The sand of the desert is sodden red, -
    Red with the wreck of a square that broke; -
    The Gatling's jammed and the colonel dead,
    And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
    The river of death has brimmed his banks,
    And England's far, and Honour a name,
    But the voice of schoolboy rallies the ranks,
    "Play up! play up! and play the game!"

    Vitai Lampada (Sir Henry Newbolt, 1897)

    From the Home of Sir Henry Newbolt (a blog)



  7. #7
    Profound Writer Bloggsworth's Avatar
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    Is it advisable to take advice from a Manchester City supporter - I think we should be told.
    A man in possession of a wooden spoon must be in want of a pot to stir.

  8. #8
    WF Veteran Bilston Blue's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bloggsworth View Post
    Is it advisable to take advice from a Manchester City supporter - I think we should be told.
    Take it or leave it, it's there all the same. Just don't take my advice on gambling; you'll lose.
    The sand of the desert is sodden red, -
    Red with the wreck of a square that broke; -
    The Gatling's jammed and the colonel dead,
    And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
    The river of death has brimmed his banks,
    And England's far, and Honour a name,
    But the voice of schoolboy rallies the ranks,
    "Play up! play up! and play the game!"

    Vitai Lampada (Sir Henry Newbolt, 1897)

    From the Home of Sir Henry Newbolt (a blog)



  9. #9
    Poetry and Introductions Moderator
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    Hi and welcome, Mick.
    “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.” ~ James Allen

    "Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." ~ Henry Van Dyke


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