Roget's Thesarus

[MULTIZ321]

- There's More than One Way to Say Happiness

Outstanding! Remarkable! Extraordinary! Striking! Exceptional! Singular!

On this date in 1852, Peter Mark Roget, a British physician (doctor) and philologist (lexicographer), published his thesaurus.

But this was only the last in a long line of his achievements (accomplishments). Earlier in life, he invented (devised) a forerunner (precursor) of the slide rule.

He studied medicine in Edinburgh, practiced it in Manchester, taught it in London, and served as secretary of the Royal Society.

But it was his six-section thesaurus — from the ancient Greek and Latin word for treasury (storehouse) — that cemented his fame (renown) and provided a family business (enterprise) for his son and grandson.

Quote: "What's another word for thesaurus?" — Steven Wright

Richard

 

[AwayWeGo]

Thesaurus-Free Writing.

Back in the olden days when I was forced to work for a living, I was for a while employed as a speechwriter -- putting words in the mouths of various government officials who would have written their own speeches if they had been so inclined & if they hadn't been so busy with all their other official duties.

The hard part of the job wasn't so much the actual writing as the mind-reading it takes to figure out what it is that the person speaking actually wants to get across to the audience.

However that may be, when the agency director I was writing for noticed that I did not have a copy of the thesaurus lying around near my desk, he said something about it. "I never use a thesaurus," I said. "Too much trouble. Too many tricky words that go over people's heads."

The guy walked away nonplused, as though all writers -- specially the professionals -- always flipped through the thesaurus as part of the mysterious writing process.

I wasn't trying to show off or make a statement of any kind. Shux, I can use all the help I can get -- & if using a thesaurus would have helped me any, then for sure I would have used 1.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[pjrose]

I don't think you mean "didn't not"

We spent $1 on an odd lot at an auction: a Stetson hat, a pair of galoshes, and a copy of (according to the auctioneer) "RAH-Git's Thee-ah-ROH-sis".

 

[AwayWeGo]

Fixed. Thanks.

I don't think you mean "didn't not"

Whoa !

How embarrassing -- specially for a (former) professional comma jockey & paid baloney mechanic.

I used to be a writer. Now I'm just a typist.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[MULTIZ321]

and in my haste this morning, I misspelled Thesaurus in the title.

I don't think I can fix it at this point - I think folks reading it still get the intent.


Richard

 

[pjrose]

and in my haste this morning, I misspelled Thesaurus in the title.

I don't think I can fix it at this point - I think folks reading it still get the intent.


Richard

A moderator can fix it. I didn't even notice - I must be slipping!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I don't use Roget's often, but when needed it's a great resource.

Modern thesauri are too often just dictionaries of synonyms. I appreciate Roget's organization by concept or idea. When I'm trying to find a word it often helps just to get into the proper areas of Roget's and then see the option sort of spill out. Frequently Roget's leads me to an alternate, better way of expressing the thought.