Rating: 
Summary: The Intermediate is better for legibility and reference
Review: The "big" Liddell & Scott is the one to buy when you're about to do your doctorate. Until then you would be better off with the Intermediate, and not just because it's only about a third the price and much easier to carry about. The Intermediate has a much clearer typeface and many students find its material more easily accessible.
The ninth edition of the "big" Liddell & Scott has been offset so many times that the print is faint and verging on the illegible. My copy actually has pieces of print missing. The Clarendon Press ought really to have the whole thing revised and reset. But what a daunting task! (It will probably end up being republished on disk.)
Rating:
Summary: The Intermediate is better for legibility and reference
Review: The "big" Liddell & Scott is the one to buy when you're about to do your doctorate. Until then you would be better off with the Intermediate, and not just because it's only about a third the price and much easier to carry about. The Intermediate has a much clearer typeface and many students find its material more easily accessible.
The ninth edition of the "big" Liddell & Scott has been offset so many times that the print is faint and verging on the illegible. My copy actually has pieces of print missing. The Clarendon Press ought really to have the whole thing revised and reset. But what a daunting task! (It will probably end up being republished on disk.)
Rating: 
Summary: Big Liddell Better in Digital Form
Review: The Big Liddell is a very valuable resource, as a number of other reviewers here have observed. It truly is the premier work of its kind. But it has a few drawbacks.1 - The sheer weight and bulk of this tome makes it a dedicated desk reference. In fact, you might consider building a special shelf or desk just to hold the book. 2 - The offset printing flaws mentioned by other reviewers is a significant problem. Portions of some entries are not even legible. The Big Liddell is the kind of book that would be much more valuable in digital format than in print. There's been talk about an electronic version for some time, and it looks like we might finally get one soon ...
Rating: 
Summary: Look for an older copy
Review: The problem is photolithography. Reading some reprints can be like looking at a photograph of a photograph. You might consider finding an older typeset copy of the LSJ. Although this means buying a used book, it may be easier on your eyes.
You cannot, however, identify a typeset copy by edition number, publication date, or ISBN. I browsed a copy of the 9th Edition (0198642148) published in 1961 and printed in 1992. It was offset and looked like the printer was running out of ink. I purchased a copy of this same 1961 edition printed in 1978. My copy is typeset. It looks fine.
Whether a copy of the book is offset or typeset seems to depend upon who printed the book and when it was printed. At one time the University of Oxford printed its own books. My LSJ states on the copyright page "Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Oxford by Eric Buckley, printer to the University." My old copy of Denniston says the same thing except for the name of the printer.
It seems that new books from the Oxford University Press are printed by a variety of firms located anywhere between Bristol and Hong Kong. I don't know when the University stopped printing its books, but I don't think that any copies of the 9th Revised (1996) Edition of the LSJ (0198642261) were printed by the University.
I can't say as a hard and fast rule that all copies printed by and at the University are typeset; however, before purchasing and shipping anything this big and expensive, I would contact the seller and ask the seller where and by whom that copy was printed.
Rating:
Summary: Yea verily, Mister Schermerhorn!
Review: There is not to much to add to this gentleman's estimation of the Great Scott. Though I will point out that it is invaluable to anyone who has completed the fundamentals and finds themselves reading multiple dialects. The gentleman is right again in saying that a little Liddell, or Middle Liddell is more appropriate for the beginning Greek reader; there is absolutely no reason to spring for the full Lexicon at that point. A reader who has, however, stuck out two or three years and moved beyond the fundamentals should make all efforts to aquire this Lexicon. The 3 rules of Greek reading [1. know your Principle parts they will save your sanity 2. the Lexicon is your friend and 3. above all else, the first thing to do when encountering any Greek is to supress panic] don't change whether you've read two years or twenty, but you can outgrow your lexicon, and any serious readers (if you've stuck it out for three years or more, your serious) should invest in this lexicon. It is the standard and a necessity.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this one and get the intermediate lexicon!
Review: This is a review of the smallest version of Liddell & Scott's lexicon ("Little Liddell"). I've long felt it inadequate, but today let's try a controlled experiment. Can we use it to read the first two pages of Xenophon's Anabasis?
(Xenophon's "Anabasis" has a reputation as a straightforward narrative written in a very clear style--it's what schoolboys used to cut their teeth on, before teachers grew worried that it was too boring to keep students interested in Greek.)
In these first two pages (OCT edition), here are three basic questions about words that are not very clearly answered by the abridged lexicon. Page 1: lines 15-16, epi is used with the dative to mean "in the power of" someone, a meaning omitted by the abridged lexicon. Page 2: line 19, the accented form of the reflexive pronoun hoi is used, but the abridged lexicon gives only the enclitic form; line 23, amphi is used with the accusative in an only vaguely local sense (made clear in the intermediate lexicon, s.v., A/C/5, but impossible to guess from the "Little Liddell").
If you can't read the opening of Xenophon's Anabasis with it, then, somebody has to say it, so I will: this book is NOT VERY USEFUL FOR ITS INTENDED PURPOSE. Spend seven more dollars and resign yourself to the extra weight and size of the intermediate. Sure, you'll outgrow it too one day, but it will always remain useful and will rarely cause this kind of frustration.
Rating:
Summary: Abridged Edition is an Excellent Lexicon
Review: This review is for the Abridged Liddell-Scott Lexicon... I own the Intermediate sized Liddell as well, and I must say I actually prefer the smaller one. When I took a class where we read "The Apology of Socrates" by Plato, my professor recommended avoiding the Intermediate edition. At first I thought perhaps he was wrong, and I used it to translate some passages. After spending a lot of time sorting through it, I found that I agreed with him. The Intermediate Liddell does have locations of word use in original sources, and has slightly more vocabulary, but for the beginning and intermediate Greek reader, the Abridged Liddell is preferable. Navigating through the abridged edition is far easier and it often assumes a lesser knowledge of Greek, thus it includes some conjugated forms, which then point you to the correct verb. So as you can see, the abridged edition should suit the needs of most classical Greek students. Also, the editors took care to make sure that virtually every New Testament word is included. Are there drawbacks to the Liddell-Scott? The Victorian English often gets frustrating. We rarely use words like hither and thither anymore. Also, when more morally explicit Greek words are defined, their definition is in Latin. Also, the original printing abnormalities, such as certain parts of letters being cut off from words, remain. Learning Greek is a rewarding, but daunting task. The task is often made more difficult by grammars and lexicons that assume the reader knows more than he or she does. The abridged Liddell is perfect for the average student. When you want to dive in deeper, learn word origins, search sources, or just want to say you own the most complete Lexicon out there, you should buy the full size Liddell-Scott. Until then, the abridged edition works!
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