Re: Subject: Thesaurus won't work

[Patrick Cox pdcox@xxxxxxxx]

Patricia

I've been having this argument with a writer/friend
for about fifteen years now. He says, in fact, that he
can tell when a writer has used a thesaurus. I, on the
other hand, seem to suffer from some variant form of
aphasia manifested by the knowledge that a word,
with the precise meaning that I need, exists, but am
unable to actually remember it It is extremely
frustrating.

"Irredentism" is one such word that often plagues me
but there are many more common words that escape
me. At times, the only way for me to find the errant
word is by approximating its meaning and searching
through synonym lists. I know several other writers
who use thesauri for the same reason.

I am also, by the way, terrible with names -- even
for people whom I have known for years. I can
remember, word for word, things that they've said
years ago as well as trivial details about their lives,
but not their names. Probably indicative of some
serious charaacter flaw.

Patrick

-----Original Message-----
From: "Patricia M. Godfrey" 
Sent: Dec 2, 2005 2:43 PM
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Subject: Thesaurus won't work

Paul Breeze  wrote:
 >>However I now find that running under Windows 2000, I cannot use the
Thesaurus.<<

To which, after 40-odd years of editing, I ask, Why bother? I find it
hard to believe that any active poster on this list NEEDS a thesaurus;
although, ironically, it's only those who don't need them who dare
safely use them. I've opened my hard copy of Roget perhaps twice in a
dozen years--and with no luck, I might add. A vastly overrated tool, IMO.

Patricia M. Godfrey