Rating: 
Summary: The last desktop dictionary you will ever need.
Review: This edition lives up to its larger predicessor. The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary claims to have every word in use since the eighteenth century. While I doubt it tp be that complete, I have never failed to find an entry. Like all of the Oxford series, this Shorter Dictionary includes notes on usage, other forms, and for certain words lengthy examples from prominent literary works for the time. This is definitely not a quick reference book, although its two 1500-page volumes are more convenient than the full version. If you are frustrated by college dictionaries or the childrens dictionary you got for your tenth birthday, I would consider this book. It was well worth the considerable price to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing piece of work
Review: This is the Oxford English that you can hold in one hand... well, just barely. On your desk, this gives you enough to work through almost any work in English at all, without having to reach for a whole bookshelf of dictionaries or a magnifying glass. Although I hope one day to obtain a complete OED someday, when I do, this will retain its cherished spot on the shelf right next to my desk for easy reference. A joy.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing piece of work
Review: This is the Oxford English that you can hold in one hand... well, just barely. On your desk, this gives you enough to work through almost any work in English at all, without having to reach for a whole bookshelf of dictionaries or a magnifying glass. Although I hope one day to obtain a complete OED someday, when I do, this will retain its cherished spot on the shelf right next to my desk for easy reference. A joy.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely THE dictionary for the serious home user
Review: Unless you have the spare cash and storage space for the full 20 volumes, or the vision and patience for the magnification-enhanced compact edition, this is the dictionary for the serious wordsmith and bookworm. As usable as any Webster's, this dictionary bests competitors in terms of comprehensiveness and concision. The OED has gotten a rap as the last bastion of English Imperialism, but if the English Language is what's left of the British Empire, well then here's the law book.
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