I came up a hair short of matching last month’s reading pace but I am pleased with my progress so far. If I can keep chewing through 100 pages a month, I should be finished with the thesaurus by Thanksgiving. This is an attainable and optimal goal. December was always a difficult month for commitment to reading due to Christmas shopping and holiday get-togethers. If I do complete this read by Thanksgiving, I may take December off and pick up book number three in 2019.For kicks and giggles, I checked on where I was in the dictionary at this percentage complete point. I was partway through the letter L at this same point, so there are substantial differences between the length of the letter sections in each book. Letters P and S look to be the longest sections of the thesaurus, which was true for the dictionary as well, so it’s not completely different.
There has been very little value in reading the thesaurus. I’m already familiar with many of the suggested synonyms, even if they weren’t at the forefront of my mind. Many of these suggestions are in bounds but I’m not giving up my distrust of the thesaurus as a writing tool.
The following are some of the most over-the-top synonym suggestions I came across during August. Some of them may have their place in scientific or discipline-specific circles but very few of these should be used outside of those audiences:
Defection/Tergiversation- The latter is an almost archaic Latin term. Ironic that a big, fancy-pants word also means “evasion of a clear-cut statement.” This word is probably only used to trip people up.
Defiant/Contumacious- The latter is legal jargon derived from Latin. ‘Nuff said.
Dithyrambic/Passionate- The former actually refers to a specific type of enthusiastic, short poem of unconventional structure. Not exactly a perfect synonym!
Dress/Habiliments- The latter used to refer to complex outfits, such as a suit of armor. Nowadays it can refer to any kind of industry-specific uniform. Save yourself at least one syllable and find a shorter word.
Eidolon/Ghost- MW Online defines the former as “an unsubstantial image,” not a specter or ghost. It’s also in the bottom 30% of MW’s word popularity rankings. Anyone using this term is just trying to sound smart.
Eleemosynary/Benevolent- The former is a Latin term, the root of which the English shortened to ælmes, which became alms. Thus the direct connection to benevolent. However, MW Online defines it to mean “of, relating to, or supported by charity.” Not a perfect fit but I have to admit that it is in the right vein.
Exuviate/Shed- Biologists can use this word all they like when referring to molting and skin shedding. Everyone else should pick something else to describe any other form of changing or undressing.
Faithlessness/Perfidiousness- Shakespeare used the latter in All’s Well That Ends Well but that should tell you something right there. If it’s old and flowery enough to appear in Shakespeare, it’s probably not best for use in modern day-to-day conversation.
Fastigium/Height- The definition of the former refers to both the angle of a ventricle in your brain or the point during a disease where symptoms are most notable. The thesaurus just says it’s interchangeable with the word height, without specifying which definition of height links best to it. There is a link but the thesaurus fails to safeguard against misuse.
Page Count: 228/528 (43.18%)
Countdown to the Letter H: 6 pages
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