The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (2 Vol. Set; Thumb Indexed Edition)

Rating:
Summary: My favorite reference book
Review: If you, like me, don't have the money or the space to add the full OED to your reference collection, this is the next best thing.

Rating:
Summary: The quintessential dictionary
Review: It's the finest, most precise dictionary I've ever used. I'm an aspiring young intellectual/scholar and a student of Russian and Chinese history at the Uninverstity of California at Berkeley. I have a 3.95 GPA and I would credit the use of my favorite dictionary--plus Jesus.

Rating:
Summary: Required for any serious professional
Review: Much better than Webster's unabridged in both content and organization, and even type. Certainly, you would need both to have a complete library, because there are a lot of words that are not common to both, but this is the one to get if you can't have both.

Rating:
Summary: Required for any serious professional
Review: Much better than Webster's unabridged in both content and organization, and even type. Certainly, you would need both to have a complete library, because there are a lot of words that are not common to both, but this is the one to get if you can't have both.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference
Review: The best of the large dictionaries. Although I'll concede that the NSOED does not live up to its dust jacket claim for including all words since 1700, it is far more comprehensive than any of its desk top competitors. By breaking it into two volumes, Oxford has made each book manageable and one doesn't need to lift weights to look up a word. The use of the OED's approach to etymology makes this dictionary superior to any in its price range, including, specifically, the Random House and the American Heritage. It dwarfs the Collegiate dictionaries (Webster's and the New World) for number of words included. Easy to read, easy to browse, endlesslly rewarding. Own this, the 2nd OED, and Webster's Unabridged and you've got everything you need.

Rating:
Summary: Words come alive
Review: The definitions and background information provided in this set are complete for modern and even many archaic uses, but the set is quite manageable. It is the dictionary of choice even for my high school children, who can tell a weak definition as well as anyone! Clearly presented, excellent exposition of the unusual and exotic words (including many of foreign origin) that force you to use the dictionary. An immense pleasure to use.

Rating:
Summary: Words come alive
Review: The definitions and background information provided in this set are complete for modern and even many archaic uses, but the set is quite manageable. It is the dictionary of choice even for my high school children, who can tell a weak definition as well as anyone! Clearly presented, excellent exposition of the unusual and exotic words (including many of foreign origin) that force you to use the dictionary. An immense pleasure to use.

Rating:
Summary: Does not live up to its advertising; many gaps and errors.
Review: The New Shorter Oxford is a major disappointment. The dust jacket copy says that it contains "virtually every word or phrase in use in English -- worldwide -- since 1700." Unfortunately, this is not true. Among the words I was not able to find in the NSO but was able to find in _abridged_ dictionaries (e.g., Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary (MWCD), American Heritage College Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary) were: cilantro, Italian greyhound, photoresist, High Holy Days, sealpoint, compact (in its mathematical sense), supersymmetry and daikon, among many others. No doubt checking competing unabridged dictionaries will produce many more examples.
Some of the NSO's definitions are incorrect, e.g. that for Siamese cat, which is defined to have a brown head notwithstanding that only certain varieties of them (sealpoint and chocolate point) do; oddly enough, the 1993 revision of the same publisher's Concise Oxford Dictionary has a correct definition, as well as an entry for "sealpoint".
Unlike the full OED, NSO does not provide detailed dates for most entries, relying instead on, e.g., "L20" for late 20th Century. So it came as a surprise that even the MWCD was more useful for providing specific years (e.g., 1953 for "photoresist" and 1743 for "Italian greyhound").
Because it contains gaps and errors that become evident in even less than an hour's perusal, the NSO, despite containing a lot of words, cannot live up to its jacket's promise of being "the new authority on the English language." Any dictonary that lacks "cilantro" is not fit, in my view, even to claim authority as a referee for Scrabble.

Rating:
Summary: Does not live up to its advertising; many gaps and errors.
Review: The New Shorter Oxford is a major disappointment. The dust jacket copy says that it contains "virtually every word or phrase in use in English -- worldwide -- since 1700." Unfortunately, this is not true. Among the words I was not able to find in the NSO but was able to find in _abridged_ dictionaries (e.g., Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary (MWCD), American Heritage College Dictionary, Webster's New World College Dictionary) were: cilantro, Italian greyhound, photoresist, High Holy Days, sealpoint, compact (in its mathematical sense), supersymmetry and daikon, among many others. No doubt checking competing unabridged dictionaries will produce many more examples.
Some of the NSO's definitions are incorrect, e.g. that for Siamese cat, which is defined to have a brown head notwithstanding that only certain varieties of them (sealpoint and chocolate point) do; oddly enough, the 1993 revision of the same publisher's Concise Oxford Dictionary has a correct definition, as well as an entry for "sealpoint".
Unlike the full OED, NSO does not provide detailed dates for most entries, relying instead on, e.g., "L20" for late 20th Century. So it came as a surprise that even the MWCD was more useful for providing specific years (e.g., 1953 for "photoresist" and 1743 for "Italian greyhound").
Because it contains gaps and errors that become evident in even less than an hour's perusal, the NSO, despite containing a lot of words, cannot live up to its jacket's promise of being "the new authority on the English language." Any dictonary that lacks "cilantro" is not fit, in my view, even to claim authority as a referee for Scrabble.

Rating:
Summary: Everything you could ask for in a dictionary
Review: The Oxford English Dictionary has always been the standard by which all other dictionaries have been judged. However, while the 20 volume set is quite thorough, to say the least, it isn't the sort of thing you'd want to keep on your desk at work. (Unless you're employed as an English professor.) This "Shorter" two volume set is an excellent and more compact version of the full dictionary. While it lacks many of the historical word usage references (try looking up "apprehend" in the 20 volume set and compare it to this one, and you'll see what I mean), it is more than adequate for almost anyone. The thumb index tabs are very useful, and the books are bound beautifully. Along with the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus, and Strunk and White's "Elements of Style", this dictionary is one of the core reference books I use on a daily basis. Certainly costlier than many dictionaries, but in this case you really do get what you pay for.