h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Am I the only one who thinks that encyclopedias tell you far too much to be helpful?

I mean, when someone makes a classical reference like 'He was a real Jeremiah' and you reach for the encyclopedia, you get twenty pages on the theology and authorship of one of the Biblical books, but you're probably still no clearer on what the phrase means...

Gif

You want a dictionary, then.

RF

Quite possibly - but they don't always carry literary allusions, either.

Gif

dictionary dot com usually shows several entries from a variety of other dictionaries whenever there is some variation, dispute or confusion between them.

And there is usually a separate 'word origin' or 'word history' box (often from etymology.com) which explains sources including literary references. Not always satisfactory but often giving quick clues to further research.

~jwf~

No, you want Brewer's Phrase and Fable.

Jeremiah was one of the gloomier prophets.

TRiG.

personally...

i am a fan of onelook http://onelook.com/

which has all these dictionaries at its disposal http://onelook.com/?d=all_gen