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BOOK REVIEW
Merriam-Webster’s Rhyming Dictionary
Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995
ISBN: 087779913X - Trade Paperback
Reference
369 pages
@Book Review
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This is the Place
The Merriam-Webster’s Rhyming Dictionary is a book
that should be on your reference shelf only if you agree with the following
generalizations:
1. I like to write a little doggerel now and then—for over-the-hill birthdays or
graduation or whatever.
2. There are times when my letters would benefit from a rhymed introduction.
A rhyming dictionary may be a dandy way to teach youngsters the vagaries of
spelling.
If you do agree, know that this is the definitive reference for rhyming. A word
of advice, though. This book is not easy to use. They say even a dictionary is
difficult if you don’t already know the rudiments of spelling. This is one is
trickier. When you buy a bike, you should “read the instructions before
assembly.” It is even more important to read the preface of this dictionary
before you try to use it.
I’d love it if there were an easier approach to finding a good rhyming word. I
can’t think of one. The advantage to doing it the way Merriam’s does it is that,
if you want a rhyme that isn’t kitschy or too pat, it will be easy to find near
the word’s precise rhyme. The way it is set up, similar sounding words are
grouped near the perfectly-matched rhymes.
Most poets already know the secrets of this book. It won’t be long before the
rest of us—including new poets like me--will get the hang of such literary
jargon as “main entries,” “cross-referenced entries,” “identification numbers,”
and “inflected and derived forms.” It’s a little like doing a crossword puzzle.
I’m beginning to love this!
© Copyright Carolyn Howard-Johnson 2002 All Rights Reserved.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of This is the Place, a story
about a young journalist coming of age in the 50s. Her new book, Harkening:
A Collection of Stories Remembered will be published in 2002 and she has
begun a book of poetry called Skyscapes: A Woman’s Memoir in Poetry. Learn
more at
http://www.tlt.com/authors/carolynhowardjohnson.htm.
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