http://everythingyouknowaboutenglishiswrong.com/blog1/2008/08/16/sin-onymy/ Cantankerous commentary on what we speak and why we speak it, from Bill Brohaugh Wed, 03 Nov 2010 05:11:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://everythingyouknowaboutenglishiswrong.com/blog1/2008/08/16/sin-onymy/comment-page-1/#comment-165 JohnnyB Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:10:47 +0000 http://everythingyouknowaboutenglishiswrong.com/blog1/2008/08/16/sin-onymy/#comment-165 Roget's Thesaurus is one of those books that can not be replaced by an online version. The structure of it allows you to search for just the right shade of meaning you need. It's a fabulous (is that the right word?) tool. Even the online ones can be useful in a pinch. However, I can see that if one is just trying to avoid repeating a word and takes whatever alternate is listed for said word, it could lead to disasterous writing. But it is the writer who is the real disaster and the thesaurus is not to blame. Roget’s Thesaurus is one of those books that can not be replaced by an online version. The structure of it allows you to search for just the right shade of meaning you need. It’s a fabulous (is that the right word?) tool. Even the online ones can be useful in a pinch.
However, I can see that if one is just trying to avoid repeating a word and takes whatever alternate is listed for said word, it could lead to disasterous writing. But it is the writer who is the real disaster and the thesaurus is not to blame.

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