Typewriter Talk / Do you use a dictionary?

**Posted by Rusty Keys** 15-6-2022 02:51:33

For a couple of decades I carried a small dictionary with me in my briefcase. I picked it up in a 2nd hand book store for a couple of bucks. It had onion skin pages and was the size of one of those Gideon Bibles they handed out in grade school. It was pretty ratty by the end, but it went with me everywhere. I pitched it when a laptop came into my life. Now that I am typing again I am using a small pocket Oxford dictionary. And I have a 2 volume dictionary that was part of one of those grocery store encyclopedias sets you could collect from back in the 80s. Do you use a paper dictionary when you are typing?

**Posted by Pete E.** 15-6-2022 09:29:16

We still have two hard-back dictionaries in our home and they are used.

They both have that "old book" smell to them...which cannot be beat.

If a PC happens to be on, we will use that too. Just no smell enjoyment, though.
.

**Posted by fountainpensplus** 15-6-2022 10:11:50

I have paper dictionaries but I found them distracting when writing. The act of opening it and finding the word passes by too many other interesting words. Since all I really want is usually just the correct spelling I use the Merriam-Webster app on my iPhone. I’ve discovered that getting older has diminished my spelling skills while increasing my joy of writing; a fair trade in my opinion.

**Posted by Uwe** 15-6-2022 16:08:58

The purist approach when going unplugged would be to use a paper dictionary. I have several and if I'm sitting down to do a lot of writing that's what I'll use; however, for shorter sessions I just use a dictionary app on my phone. Conversely, I have sometimes not concerned myself with spelling and just let the words fly because once the typing has been transposed and in my computer it's easiest to just run a spellcheck on the entire mess...

**Posted by Guth** 17-6-2022 04:01:34

I have a number of books that I like to keep nearby when writing, including a dictionary and a writer's thesaurus. When it comes to checking spelling, my preference is to use a very small book that I've owned since college titled "Follett Vest-Pocket 50,000 Words". It is small enough that you could easily fit it in a portable typewriter case for example. I imagine that it would fit in most ultraportable cases as well.

That said, I do sometimes use my smartphone or laptop on those occasions when I'm typing upstairs and left my reference books downstairs in my office.