Descriptionary: A Thematic
Dictionary by Marc McCutcheon
It Is What Is Says To A T
What do you call the reference of choice for those maddening moments
when you know what it is, but not what its called? A Descriptionary, of
course! This handy book provides thousands of definitions organized
thematically rather than alphabetically. A great reference for writers,
students, teachers, crossword puzzle buffs, or any lover of language.
Personal Review: Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary by
Marc McCutcheon
De.scrip.tion.ary, n., a big book of words arranged in a common sense
order designed to help the reader find an unknown word. Similar to
dictionary and thesaurus, with key differences. Many times, people have
the word just on the tip of their tongues, but cannot find the word.
Dictionaries are often no help in such instances. Despite the wealth of
information contained therein, and the imminently logical organisation (the

same goes for a thesaurus), often what is needed is more of a reverse
directory. Indeed, comedians past and present have made entire routines
out of the difficulties of using a dictionary (how does one look up the
spelling of a word if one doesn't know how to spell it?). While these
difficulties have doubtless been exaggerated, there is definitely room on
the reference shelf for a book such as the Descriptionary, a wonderful
resource for finding just the right word from a definition. `A standard
dictionary will tell you the meaning of a word, a thesaurus will give you a
list of synonyms, but only Descriptionary directs you straight to the word
itself.' The Descriptionary is arranged thematically. These themes are
developed and arranged by broad category, narrowing the field of research
for any given word search. Under each broad theme, there are literally
thousands of words. The definitions are not lengthy, but just of sufficient
length to permit identification. - Animals and Insects
- Architecture
- Clothing
- Electronics
- Environment
- Finance
- Food and Drink
- Human Body and Mind
- Language
- Law
- Magic and the Occult
- Medicine
- Military
- Music
- Occupations
- Performing Arts
- Religions
- Sports

- Tools
- Transportation
- Weapons However, thousands of words per category would still make for
a daunting task of location of just the right word. Therefore, each major
theme is broken into smaller sections, and yet smaller subsections. Take,
for instance, the organisation under the heading Religions: Religions
..Ancient Religions
....Ancient Egyptian Worship
....Greek and Roman Mythology
....Monsters and Fabulous Creatures
..Modern Religions
....Buddhism
....Christianity
....Hinduism
....Islam
....Judaism Perhaps it will be your dharma to forget the term for
enlightenment (under Buddhism, nirvana), or perhaps your searching
requires some cutting edge information (under Judaism, see mohel). You
needn't be gifted in speaking in tongues (glossolalia, under Christianity) to
find the right word here. Each subsection contains a few hundred words,
which makes the Descriptionary very useful for looking up related and
relevant terms in any area. Rather than having to fumble through a
dictionary for hoped-for connexions based on definitions, one has in one
compact list all of the major terminology for each category and
subcategory. In very few dictionaries would one be able to find the
connexions between the words ablation, drift, horn, striation, and trimline
(they all have to do with glaciers). The index is wonderful for pinpointing
the multiple uses of words. For instance, the word ace has multiple
meanings, including one definition under Performing Arts and no fewer
than five different meanings under Sports. This book will help one to ace
the understanding. Following the main part of the Descriptionary is a
section entitled `1050 words and expressions you should know'. The
author has here compiled a listing of 'big' words and phrases that turn up
on a fairly regular basis in such media as Time, Newsweek, and broadcast
news. These are fairly common words that are often misunderstood. The
literate may wonder that so many common and 'easy' words are included
here; they are, unfortunately, included because of the current state of

education -- so many high school and even college graduates lack a
working literate vocabulary. However, it does the scholar's ego good --
there was not one word or phrase among the 1050 that was unfamiliar to
me. This is an American book. The definitions and descriptions definitely
assume the American derivative of English. Under Sports, for instance,
there is both football and soccer descriptions, but no cricket. However,
Sports does get considerable play by including everything from archery to
windsurfing to bullfighting to thoroughbred racing. We each of us have our
blind spots in education, and the Descriptionary, by pulling the key
vocabulary of each field together in a brief and succinct manner, serves to
provide a ready reference 'cheat sheet' to understanding the major points
of almost any popular topic. The author, Marc McCutcheon, is a freelance
author, perhaps best known for his work on 'Roget's Super Thesaurus' and
'The Facts On File Student Thesaurus'. A talented and experienced
wordsmith, McCutcheon's Descriptionary will help ensure you are never
without the right word.
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