Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary
Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995
ISBN: 087779913X - Trade Paperback
Nonfiction / Reference

Reviewed by: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, MyShelf.Com
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The Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary is a book that should be on everyone's reference shelf. Doesn't everyone write a little doggerel now and then-for over-the-hill birthdays or graduation? Isn't there always a time when our letter writing would benefit from a rhymed introduction? How about teaching our youngsters the vagaries of spelling? If you don't agree with the above generalizations, then you can skip the rest of this review.

If you do, know that this is the definitive reference for rhyming. A word of advice, though, it is not easy to use. They say even a dictionary is difficult if you don't already know the rudiments of spelling. This is one is trickier. When you buy a bike, you should "read the instructions before assembly." It is more important to read the preface of this dictionary before you try to use it.

I'd love it if there were an easier approach to finding a good rhyming word. I can't think of one. The advantage to doing it the way it is done in this small reference is that, if you want a rhyme that isn't kitschy or too pat, it will be easy to find near the word's precise rhyme. The way it is set up, similar sounding words are grouped near the perfectly-matched rhymes.

Most poets already know the secrets of this book. It won't be long before the rest of us-including new poets like me--will get the hang of such literary jargon as "main entries," "cross-referenced entries," "identification numbers," and "inflected and derived forms." It's a little like doing a crossword puzzle. I'm beginning to love this.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of This is the Place.