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Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary
Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995
ISBN: 087779913X - Trade Paperback
Reference
$4.99
369 pages
1. I like to write a little doggerel now and then-for over-the-hill birthdays or graduation or whatever.
2. There are times when my letters would benefit from a rhymed introduction. A rhyming dictionary may be a dandy way to teach youngsters the vagaries of spelling.
If you do agree, know that this is the definitive reference for rhyming. A word of advice, though. This book 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 even 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 Merriam's does it 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!
(Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of This is the Place, a story about a young journalist coming of age in the 50s. Her new book, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered will be published in 2002 and she has begun a book of poetry called
Skyscapes: A Woman's Memoir in Poetry. Learn more at http://www.tlt.com/authors/carolynhowardjohnson.htm