Amazon.com: New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd Edition: 9780195392883: Oxford University Press: Books

One of the earlier reviewers stated that this dictionary acts like it “owns the place.” I understand where that is coming from.

Not only does mine act like it owns my place, when I got it, and it got acclimated to my house, it started pouting, whining, moaning, throwing fits, temper tantrums, and it wouldn’t stop until I got it a furniture quality dictionary stand. Also from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Design-Toscano-Thomas-Aquinas-Bookstand/dp/B00269EOS2/

Then and only then was it content. Until it turns 16 and starts hitting me up for a car.

Of course, this stand gives me plenty of room to keep this book’s steady girlfriend, the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, underneath it.

Really, all jokes aside, if and when you buy and receive this tome, the first thing that will jump out at you is its size. While its listed dimensions, 9 x 2.5 x 11.5, are the truth, those actually underestimate how big the dictionary looks when it’s in front of your face. You could take out a ruler and estimate those dimensions in front of you if you don’t have the dictionary, but the book “in the flesh” actually seems much bigger, even though it’s actually not.

By comparison, the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, the ne plus ultra of unabridged American English dictionaries, is only 81% larger in three-dimenson volume. “Only 81%,” I say, because just about everyone has seen W3NID, and knows how Baluchitherian it is. Also by comparison, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate, 11th Edition, which is in the same class and price point range and language class (American English) as this Oxford, and is said to be the best selling American English dictionary in the just-slightly-less-than-unabridged category, the Oxford is 70% larger in volume than it. In fact, MWC11 is only slightly more voluminus that the the Oxford Theasurus.

Once you get over the physical size, then there’s the matter of weight. Seven pounds, officially, but if it weighs only seven pounds, then I weigh only seven pounds. Of course, I don’t weigh seven pounds, I’m the sort that can gain seven pounds just by looking at a doughnut. By comparison and officially, W3NID is 12.5 pounds, and MWC11 is 3.8 pounds.

Long and short: It’s big, and heavy, which means it deserves a quality stand, just to support it and show it off.

Now, as for contents, Oxford gives me that sort of authoritative and official feeling of lexicography that I don’t get from M-W or American Heritage (Houghton-Mifflin), which makes sense, because Oxford University is where our language pretty much officially lives. Another thing is that Oxford doesn’t give me the sense that it’s playing the kind of slick diss sneak diss political games with lexicography that M-W and AH are, even though Oxford does it to some extent.

To conclude: New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd Edition is now in direct competition with my cat over who has control of my house.