The absolutely worst thing that any writer (or editor) can have happen is the acquisition of a thesaurus.
Such inanity!
The
acquisition of a thesaurus is no worse than the acquisition of a gun, for the same reasons. Foolish, careless, improper use is the culprit that a good writer avoids very carefully.
I have several, and have had at least one handy since 1953. They're dang useful when the only word that I can think-of
right then is too top-heavy for what I want to say, and at the moment I can't think-of the simpler word that I'm thumping my forehead for.
And the older I get, with the tread wear that comes with the years, I find 'em more and more useful to remind me of the simpler words. Hardly a post here gets on-line without the help of a thesaurus �
but never to find a fancy word to replace a country-boy word that does what I want it to do.Synonyms are not all precisely equivalent. Very often, I can think-of the
almost right word but need a thesaurus to remind me of the
right word.
Mark Twain said it best � "The difference between the
almost right word and the
right word is a large matter � 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."
