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The Merriam Webster Dictionary
The Merriam Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
41 posts | 6 read | 2 to read
Concise definitions of words and phrases in common use are supplemented with brief etymologies
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TheSpineView
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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#WeirdWordWednesday @CBee

I ran across this new to me word last week. I'm trying to jot words down as I stumble upon them. Not sure I would call this one weird but I found it interesting and thought you might too.

A toast to weird, wonderful and interesting words!!! 🍾🍾🍾
Happy Wednesday!

CBee Weird is used pretty loosely 😊 Great word!! 6d
TheSpineView @CBee 👍🤩🌞 6d
BookmarkTavern That one is fun to say! 5d
54 likes4 comments
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Sace
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Pedantry alert!
Over the last few months I‘ve noticed a linguistic shift that is driving me insane. I first noticed on podcasts (hence the picture), but I‘ve even noticed in work emails (written by educators no less). There seems to be a trend to shorten words. “Priorities” becomes “priors”. “Comparisons” and “Competitions” both become “comps” (which previously was used for “comprehensive exams”). ⬇️

Sace In each case it wasn‘t exactly clear which word they were abbreviating. I find this unacceptable. Educators and bookish podcasters especially shouldn‘t take shortcuts. (edited) 7mo
Sace PS: I find it doubly annoying in speech because there‘s no character limit when speaking. 🙄 7mo
Amor4Libros Agree!! 7mo
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kspenmoll I totally agree! 7mo
Mollyanna Absolutely agree! 7mo
Sace @Amor4Libros @kspenmoll @Mollyanna Thanks for supporting my moment of annoyance 😂 7mo
Clare-Dragonfly Wow! I haven‘t encountered those to my knowledge but they sound very annoying! Those words already have meanings that are not really distinct enough from the new ones. 7mo
Sace @Clare-Dragonfly I just don‘t get it. 7mo
MoniqueReads305 I agree with most of this except comps. I thinks that's publishing language bleeding into education through social media.. When authors sell their books to publishers they provide comps. That's why you'll hear stuff like Little Women meets Lord of the Files. 6mo
dabbe This retired high school English teacher agrees 💯! 💙🩵💙 6mo
Hooked_on_books “Priors” for priorities?!? I get the desire to shorten words sometimes, but that changes it to a completely different word and thus the meaning as well! Accuracy and clear communication is far more important than shortening a few words! 6mo
Hooked_on_books And that‘s absolutely not pedantry! 6mo
julesG What about speakers of English as a second/foreign language? That's so wrong. Don't make it harder for us. Language is evolving, of course, but that's just sloppy. An email is not a handwritten letter that takes ages to copy, 6mo
julesG ... It's just lazy and confusing. 6mo
Sace @MoniqueReads305 Ah! Thanks for the information. It was in fact a bookish podcast that used “comps” so knowing that bit of publishing language makes sense now. 6mo
Sace @julesG absolutely agree! And that kind of usage doesn‘t make it into dictionaries either (at least it would take a bit of searching to find). 6mo
Sace @Hooked_on_books Right? I‘m seeing/hearing it more than I would like. 😂 6mo
Sace @dabbe 🩵 I can imagine how infuriating this kind of thing would be for English teachers. I don‘t think students have started doing this (yet). 6mo
rwmg I haven't come across those yet. But I have come across comp as a verb meaning, as far as I can make out, (of a business) give somebody something free to pacify them after they make a complaint. 6mo
Sace @rwmg oh yes! That‘s another common one that (I think) most of the general public knows. 6mo
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LiterRohde
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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“The English language has had other terms for poets over the years, among them the word maker itself, as early as the 15th century. English speakers esteemed poets highly then; the word maker had been used to refer to God since the century before. Shaper too has historically referred in English to both a poet and God.”

📙: https://tinyurl.com/yx8tr386

#PoetryMatters | 13: #Beginning

📷: Made with Typorama

TheSpineView Interesting!😊 6y
59 likes1 comment
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kgriffith
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Fun little test. Thanks, @tournevis!

Testing #LitsyWeb tagging

TimSpalding Wait, so is the result real, or are you just testing? ;) 6y
tournevis Go you! 6y
kgriffith @TimSpalding Both ;) Carriage returns work in web comments; makes them look weird inline. :D (edited) 6y
kgriffith @tournevis Thank you! :) 6y
23 likes4 comments
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GingerAntics
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Accurate, but couldn‘t my word be more exciting?!

What word are you? Here‘s the quiz.
https://bookriot.com/?p=249867

inthegreensandblues I feel like it looks odd because I rarely see it in that tense. It's always flummoxed. I do love that word. 😊 6y
GingerAntics @inthegreensandblues that did take some getting used to 6y
jmofo This is a fantastic Scrabble word. 6y
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GingerAntics @jmofo hadn‘t thought of it in those terms. I bet it would score very nicely. 6y
jmofo @GingerAntics I am salivating at the point prospects now 6y
GingerAntics @jmofo I need to play scrabble now...and hopefully get the letters to play this word and find out!!! 6y
batsy I'm "kerfuffle" ? I love that word so no complaints, lol 6y
batsy Flummox is a good one 👍🏽 6y
GingerAntics @batsy kerfuffle is a good word!!! 6y
20 likes9 comments
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inthegreensandblues
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Bwahaha. Yeah I am guilty of being a blatherskite sometimes. 😂

Take the quiz:
https://bookriot.com/?p=249867

Thanks for sharing, @Lizpixie

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CoffeeNBooks
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Thanks @jmofo for the chance to win in your #LasagnaHogGiveAway! I love words and I love etymology. Some of my favorite words are lollygag, melancholy, plethora, juxtaposition, and discombobulate. 🤣

jmofo Yay! Thanks for playin‘!!! 🖤 6y
79 likes1 comment
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jpmcwisemorgan
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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The person, or people, running the dictionary‘s Twitter have taken on a Herculean task. 😮

Anyway, happy #DictionaryDay!

Zelma Oops! That is going to take awhile. 6y
jpmcwisemorgan @Zelma Something tells me they‘re not reaching that but they‘re putting in the effort. 6y
46 likes2 comments
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Sace
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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For @BookishTrish because I'm a pedantic ass 🙄

wanderinglynn I was about to do the same thing! 😂 6y
tournevis Funny how neither of these words are one bit pedantic in French. 6y
Laura317 I sometimes use the 1828 version for even more info: http://webstersdictionary1828.com 6y
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BookishTrish This utterly made my day ❤️❤️❤️ 6y
BookishTrish @tournevis We don‘t think the words are pedantic in English. I posted on my feed that I thought the words sounded made up and this inspired further digging. 6y
Sace @BookishTrish lol yay! There's an essay in Ex Libris about obscure words that I just listened to yesterday so I particularly loved your post today 😁 6y
Sace @wanderinglynn it was practically a challenge! 😂 6y
Sace @Laura317 ooooo ❤️ 6y
tournevis @BookishTrish Then I'm misunderstanding your OP 6y
keithmalek You would LOVE two books by Charles Harrington Elster: There's a Word for It (one of my all-time favorites), and Word Workout. 6y
Sace @keithmalek Cool! I just placed a hold for There's a Word for It. Thanks for the recommendation! 6y
73 likes11 comments
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jmofo
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Pickpick

One of my first book loves, I learned so much from the many dictionaries in my life. Often a solitary soul, I found answers and solace and jokes and connection through dictionaries. My partners in crime with writing.
Pictured too are a few select favorite books for @ErinSueG for her #crimesagainstcovers photo challenge! The item on the right is a flower pressing book I made in part with the dust jacket from an art history book from college...😬

TK-421 ❤️ 6y
Erinsuereads Those are definitely in the running for most wrecked books I‘ve seen all day!! You have clearly loved them to death 💜💜💜💜 6y
CoffeeNBooks I love the dictionary, and often get distracted when I'm looking up a word, because there are so many cool words in the dictionary that I see and want to read about! 😂 6y
13 likes3 comments
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VioletCavalier

And the Random Word of the Day is: COMA.

Definition: A state of profound unconsciousness.

I put myself in a coma on the weekends after many consecutive weeknights of little sleep. 😪 A sleep mask and earplugs are incredibly useful in this endeavor. What books have kept you up at night?

CrowCAH Hmm none. But my own writing sure keeps me up sometimes! 6y
8 likes1 comment
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TheWordJar
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Taking a break from reading to watch these amazing spellers. The famous Dr. Bailey and the last girl standing! Love love love the Scripps National Spelling Bee! 🐝🐝🐝 #spellingbee #word

Suet624 I watched this too. Loved the way the girl would type on her invisible keyboard. 6y
50 likes1 comment
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Blueberry
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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:)

LaraReads 🤗💕 7y
Cathythoughts 💝👍🏻 7y
CoverToCoverGirl ❤️😊 7y
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mimsyborogroves
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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I would just like to mention that "facetious" is a spectacular word that includes every vowel in alphabetical order... Aside from y, the weird non-committal vowel of doom. #english #studying #vocabulary #notquiteabookpost

MayJasper Hello and welcome 😊 7y
Vertabrain Welcome! I‘m new too :) Funny story....I learned the word facetious in 7th grade, and used it to terrorize boys, along the lines of...”If you think you‘re so cool, then spell facetious,” or “Don‘t worry, I‘m just being facetious.” (Said with mocking disdain). It was my favorite word for an entire summer, earned me the coveted title of ‘nerd‘, and kept those boys in their rightful place. 😂😂😂 7y
asiriusreader Welcome to Litsy! 7y
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StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 👋😁 7y
mimsyborogroves ahaha thats the sassiest and most wonderful story ive heard in a long while! @Vertabrain 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome to Litsy!!! 7y
19 likes6 comments
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MrBook
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Today is National Dictionary Day. It was created as an unofficial holiday to celebrate the birth of Noah Webster in 1758! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #LitsyLovesLibraries #TheMoreYouKnow

LukkiAnn It is boss‘s day also 😹😹😹 7y
MrBook @LukkiAnn I've been lucky in usually having great bosses. 😁🙌🏻 7y
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BooksAndChopsticks
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Today's #wordoftheday
A little boring, but hey, it's Friday!!! 🤓

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Yeah_I_Read
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Love this! Probably not so much for those affected by Irma rn ☹️

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Liberty
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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monkeygirlsmama 🤣🤣🤣🤣 7y
Soubhiville Hahahaha! 👍 yep. 🤣😂🤣😂 7y
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kspenmoll 😂😂👏 7y
aloslibrary 👌😂 7y
StaceyKondla This made me actually LOL 😂 7y
brilliantglow 😂😂😂 7y
bio_chem06 I'm stealing this and sharing it with everyone I know, I couldn't stop laughing! 7y
Avanders 🤣🤣🤣 7y
191 likes10 comments
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Eyelit
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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This made me laugh today. 😆 #wtforecast

Jennick2004 😝🤣😝🤣 7y
Soubhiville Hahaha! @MrBook will appreciate this! 7y
MrBook @Soubhiville 😂😂👏🏻👏🏻🙌🏻 7y
See All 8 Comments
readordierachel 😂😂 7y
Laura317 I'm literally speechless. And by literally, I mean figuratively. 😂 7y
Cupofjo Best weather app ever! 😂😂😂 7y
Linear I need this in my life 7y
mrozzz That's such sassy perfection 7y
100 likes8 comments
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Carissa-Green-Reads
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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I really enjoy Litsy but my goodness I am slow to accumulate points.

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Megabooks
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster

Don't you hate it when some starts an article, "The dictionary defines X as..." #lazy #overit I mean this is scientific writing, not high school! ??

Johanna414 Lazy writing 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Ridiculous! 8y
Megabooks @Johanna414 @BarbaraTheBibliophage Agree with both. Unfortunately the writing didn't get better. 😒 8y
59 likes3 comments
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jpmcwisemorgan
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster

I just feel like someone here needs to know about this job opportunity. https://www.merriam-webster.com/jobs/content-social-media-manager

Cinfhen Definitely going to be perfect for some Litten🙌🏻 8y
TheWordJar M-W wins the game of Twitter! Hope whoever replaces the outgoing person keeps it up. 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @Cinfhen I know! @TheWordJar I'm kind of nervous because it's one of my favorite social media accounts. Also, I think it's got a lot of people thinking more about words and how they're used. 8y
TheWordJar And that is so important these days! Anything that makes words and their meanings "cool" (do the kids still use that word?) to people who otherwise might not care is OK in my book. (Also illustrating why I couldn't do that job! ?) 8y
33 likes4 comments
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jpmcwisemorgan
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster

I found out today that one of the geniuses (I assume there's more than one) running MW's social media, specifically Twitter, is leaving for another job. MW on Twitter is my favorite social media account. The snark and sassiness had been a source of joy and I hope that they can maintain it.

drokka They've certainly been having a great time with the US government of late. 🤣 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @drokka And they're trolling people too when they post trending look ups. My favorite was misogyny after the election. A large portion of Twitter was "and you just NOW thought to look that up"?! 8y
32 likes2 comments
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jpmcwisemorgan
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster

One of my most recent book purchases was a Merriam Webster Dictionary for a friend's daughter. Yes, it can be found online but when you're writing a paper and don't want to be distracted what you need to not do? Also, I'm a fan of knowing how to use dictionaries, libraries, etc. Now I've found out she's been following experiments on YouTube and experimenting at home. Next up, a poster of the period table. Any book suggestions would be welcome!

LibrarianRyan I love all the Asher science books. They are fun but really well done. 8y
jpmcwisemorgan @LibrarianRyan Thank you! You always come through with great suggestions. My friend's daughter is doing things like learning how to make goo on YouTube and then trying to figure it how to do it better. She's 11 and we all want to encourage this - safety first, of course. (edited) 8y
LibrarianRyan @jpmcwisemorgan that is so cool. I was like that once (minus the you tube). 8y
28 likes3 comments
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TirzahPrice
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Some new packaging for Etsy shop items! You guys, I swear this dictionary was already a goner before I started slashing pages.

Bookworm83 Cute!! 8y
27 likes1 comment
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Brenley
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Day 27 of #riotgrams is this #doorstopper I picked up at a flea market. It's serving as a plant holder and Batman display. @bookriot

Gayan I love this!!!💖 8y
CrowCAH Wow that's a huge book! But love it! 😍 8y
lynneamch Yes, I think that's like the one we always pulled down from the top shelf of the front closet. Looking back, it seems we could have found a more convenient place. 😆 Going to visit my mom next month. I'll have to see if it's still there. 8y
erzascarletbookgasm Thickest book I've ever seen! 8y
59 likes4 comments
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Gina
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Found this at the Milwaukee Domes today and couldn't pass it up. Made with 1870s Webster dictionary pages.
Www.VintageDictionaryArt.com

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Gina
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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The German noun feinschmecker literally means "fine-taster" from fein "fine" and schmecker "taster". The word entered English in the late 19th century.

review
jpmcwisemorgan
Pickpick

I'm marking this a pick for the Merriam Webster Twitter account. The person and persons responsible for their account is/are brilliant. If you love words and don't mind some subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) politics with your words this is a social media must follow.

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bewareofwords
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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End of the first week of the new semester, and you know what that means--lots and lots of new books! #englishmajor #college

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EvieBee
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Scrabble night with Mr. Eve! Tuesdays have turned into board game night for the past month. We got this at Barnes and Noble this morning. #wordnerds

My husband forgot how to spell "egg". We had quite a laugh!

MrBook 😂👏🏻 8y
Nebklvr And here i thought it was an abbreviation eeg 8y
LindsayReads 😂😂 great new tradition! 8y
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TheBookAddict 🤣🤣👏🏽👌🏽 8y
EvieBee @Nebklvr Me too! Until I caught it lol. Too busy taking a picture. 8y
EvieBee @LindsayReads Thank you! It's been fun. 😁 8y
courtney Love that you guys have weekly game nights!! So cute 8y
EvieBee @courtney Thank you so much! Xx 8y
81 likes9 comments
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KimmyM
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I am cozied up and working my way through this book tonight. I love word puzzles!

#puzzles

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RiotMom
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Crying at these dictionaries throwing shade... 😂😂😂

RanaElizabeth MW's twitter account is always on point. 8y
acc5446 this made me LOL for real 😆 8y
Megabooks 😒😒😂😂 8y
LeahBergen Ooo, must find and follow! 😂 8y
BookNerdBritt Their twitter account is hilarious! No shortage of shade to be found. (edited) 8y
66 likes5 comments
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BookishMarginalia
Merriam-Webster Dictionary | Merriam-Webster
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Cool article explaining the origins of some holiday words -- perfect for word-nerds! Enjoy! https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/wassail-yule-holiday-word-origins

Godmotherx5 Very interesting. Thanks for posting the article. 8y
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Apinlibraryland
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My #booktree from last year! Circumstances prevented me from putting one up this year, unfortunately. Next year!

ReadingOver50 Awesome 8y
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angrylilasian
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😂😂😂

hwheaties 👌🏼👍🏼 8y
BookishMarginalia But it is such a good word. So handy. So useful. So shiny and new 😇 8y
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silentrequiem The MW twitter is the best. 8y
Laura317 Love! 😂😂 8y
Suet624 It's the best word. 8y
49 likes6 comments
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Lindy
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shawnmooney 😤😢😤😢😤😢 8y
Hobbinol Wow 8y
43 likes2 comments
review
carmens.library
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Pickpick

My little friend here helped me pick a word for Dictionary Day! #hauntedbooktober 🎃📖🎃📖🎃📖🎃📖🎃📖🎃📖🎃📖
#dictionaryday #hauntings #livelaughbooksoctober #spooktacularbooks #lilbookishoctober

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becausetrains
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Didn't get it, but if anyone wants this 12" x 9" x 6" behemoth, it's only $7 ?? #ArlingtonBookSale

TheNextBook Lmao!!! Where was I when you guys found this!? That looks ridiculously heavy! 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook No idea, you were flitting all over the place! It was so heavy! Could you imagine if this fucker fell on you?! 8y
TheNextBook @BookishFeminist That would suck! Or if you accidentally dropped it on your foot. That books is bigger then some newborns! 8y
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BookishFeminist @TheNextBook After holding it I'm willing to bet it's heavier than most newborns! 😳 Book of mass destruction. Grateful for Google now. 😂 8y
JPeterson Haha! Maybe I should have gotten it - we have a couple with their baby coming over for dinner tonight. Then I could compare. For book science! 😂 @BookishFeminist @TheNextBook 8y
JSW What's the shipping cost? 😝 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Huge! And how quickly times have changed.... I think that every time I see another pile of Encyclopedias at the recycling center. 8y
Zelma I would have been tempted! We use our hardcover dictionary quite often. 👍 8y
RebeccaSpeas Amazing 😂 8y
ValerieAndBooks They're going the way of phone books (my neighborhood just had a phone book delivery and I was wondering the heck why)! But, hey, it's an antique! 8y
49 likes10 comments
review
Ukulelebob
Panpan

You would not believe how many words are in this book. Like so many. Seriously though doesn't Google make this book obsolete. The internet has affectively turned the dictionary and its cousin thesaurus out on the streets.