Self-help

[Harry Whitehouse]

I see in The Times today that the Oxford Dictionary of English is one of the country's most shoplifted books.

Impecunious Countdown fans to blame?

Is "shoplifted" in the ODE? Just putting my poacher's jacket on and popping down to WHSmith. I'll be able to look it up when I get back.

[Ben Hunter]

I'm always tempted to nick the OED too. It's worth so much and I want one so badly, yet I never want to part with £20 or £30 to get my hands on one because it seems like too much of a luxury.

[Ian Fitzpatrick]

I bought SWMBO one two Christmas' running (OED then NODE), I gave up trying to keep up to date with the programme after the complaints and funny looks.

[Hannah O]

I do want to get my hands on the holy book of Countdown! It's the NODE that's currently used, is it?

[Gary Male]

Oxford Dictionary of English, 2nd Edition, revised. If you buy it new from any reputable bookseller you'll get the right dictionary for sure..

[Hannah O]

Ah, right! Five finger discounts do seem to be the way to go though when it comes to expensive books

[Daniel O'Dowd]

I'm very tempted to buy one as an investment on the prize of winning the whole series of Countdown, when I will got on, (sic) because the wonderful brain in my head has a memory like a sponge.

[Gary Male]

You've only got to look at someone like Mark Tournoff to see the benefits of having an ODE of your own, to be able to make notes in the margin etc, to put some serious study in. That was an investment and a half which paid off in spades.

If you feel uncomfortable stealing the book, then why not haggle with the bookseller? You might get told to stick it up your arse, but then again there's some people on here that might like that. Allegedly.

[Martin Gardner]

You've only got to look at someone like Mark Tournoff to see the benefits of having an ODE of your own, to be able to make notes in the margin etc, to put some serious study in. That was an investment and a half which paid off in spades.

If you feel uncomfortable stealing the book, then why not haggle with the bookseller? You might get told to stick it up your arse, but then again there's some people on here that might like that. Allegedly.

LOL

[Rosemary Roberts]

Ah, right! Five finger discounts do seem to be the way to go though when it comes to expensive books

Could be worse - the OED used to cost an arm and a leg.

[Julie T]

Ah, right! Five finger discounts do seem to be the way to go though when it comes to expensive books

Could be worse - the OED used to cost an arm and a leg.

LOL!

I got mine from Amazon a couple of years ago. They're currently selling it for £22.75:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictiona ... 965&sr=1-2

There is always the worry though, that since they last revised it in 2005, they might decide to do a new edition soon.
I don't know this, just pointing out Sod's Law.

[Daniel O'Dowd]

Ah, right! Five finger discounts do seem to be the way to go though when it comes to expensive books

Could be worse - the OED used to cost an arm and a leg.

LOL!

I got mine from Amazon a couple of years ago. They're currently selling it for £22.75:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictiona ... 965&sr=1-2

There is always the worry though, that since they last revised it in 2005, they might decide to do a new edition soon.
I don't know this, just pointing out Sod's Law.

Ironically I was going to post about this very link!

There is a link below that page in Amazon which says 'Hardcover 2RevEd' and I'm wondering if this is the 2nd edition that is used in the show or not? It has a different cover to the one I've seen but thought I should clarify before I shell out on something wrong.

[Julie T]

Ironically I was going to post about this very link!

There is a link below that page in Amazon which says 'Hardcover 2RevEd' and I'm wondering if this is the 2nd edition that is used in the show or not? It has a different cover to the one I've seen but thought I should clarify before I shell out on something wrong.

I'm fairly sure it's still the correct one, although you're right in that the cover has changed slightly.
If the dictionary is quoted on here, it's abbreviated to ODE2r, i.e 2nd edition revised.
So I can't see how the content will be any different despite the cover.
I'd make sure someone else agrees with me first before buying, though.

[Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for anyone buying the wrong dictionary. ]

[Rosemary Roberts]

Could be worse - the OED used to cost an arm and a leg.

They're currently selling it for £22.75

I was thinking of the full 20-odd volume OED, which still costs hundreds of pounds for real and almost £200 on CD-ROM.
I would really like to have it the disc version, and as a language professional I could set it off against tax, but £200 is four times what I would pay!

[Jason Larsen]

Wow-wee!

[Julie T]

Could be worse - the OED used to cost an arm and a leg.

They're currently selling it for £22.75

I was thinking of the full 20-odd volume OED, which still costs hundreds of pounds for real and almost £200 on CD-ROM.
I would really like to have it the disc version, and as a language professional I could set it off against tax, but £200 is four times what I would pay!

Confusion between ODE and OED there, sorry!

I think anyone who managed to shoplift the OED (in multi volume book form) possibly deserves it!
(Not that I'm advocating theft! )

[Gary Male]

Far simpler to go to your local library's website, follow the links to the reference books, and enter your library card number and get full access to the OED I'd have thought. It does lack the Hollywood-style glamour of stealing a, er, dictionary, though. Unless it's OEDceans 14, which would rock.

[Daniel O'Dowd]

There is one difference in those amazon links you can see in the thread: well, one. the ODE2r http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictiona ... ef=ed_oe_h
is from 2003.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictiona ... 634&sr=8-2

This is from 2005.

Which is used on the show?

[Jon O'Neill]

There is one difference in those amazon links you can see in the thread: well, one. the ODE2r http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictiona ... ef=ed_oe_h
is from 2003.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Dictiona ... 634&sr=8-2

This is from 2005.

Which is used on the show?

The 2nd edition was published in 2003. The 2nd edition, revised, was published in 2005. I would threfore hazard a guess that the 2003 page is lying to you, and that it is the plain old 2nd edition.

[Daniel O'Dowd]

Yeah I can agree with your thinking on that. Working backward it also logics out because that 2005 one is the only one I find in my local bookstore. =)

[Julie T]

Jono's new signature:
"[NB If my typing suddenly becomes lower-case and typo-ridden, apologies. It means I have a squirming penis on my lap]"

Didn't know that you found Daniel's posts so exciting!
Wonder what Clare thinks of your version of her sig?

"Be who you are and say what you feel because nobody gives a toss."

[Rosemary Roberts]

Confusion between ODE and OED there, sorry!

The confusion was mine, and not for the first time. A few years ago, when there was much talk on Countdown about the smart new dictionary they were changing to, I tried to buy it from Amazon, but I entered the wrong search string and ended up with the two-volume SOED. Which is a nice dictionary and comes with a CD but is not much use for Countdown.
I do have the two-volume miniaturized OED, which is useful but hard on the eyes. That is not really shopliftable either, though. My mother bought it secondhand and schlepped it over to Germany in two suitcases. Sooner her than me!

[Phil Reynolds]

Working backward it also logics out

You evidently adhere to the principle that any noun can be verbed.

[Daniel O'Dowd]

Working backward it also logics out

You evidently adhere to the principle that any noun can be verbed.

You mean verbised? (I'm serious: I remember hearing this construction more than once.)

Nah, I'm like OED: I'm a Dan of common word usage Again, I've heard this being used before, and while I have every appreciation for the preservation of proper English grammar, some things will always erode in to new forms and change

And that's a very nice point Julie! But Jono doesn't know what I look like (and that until my hairdresser temporarily butchered me this morning, I was the sexiest person here ) so it can't possibly apply to me or my post. Pun on dictionary is my vote.

[Kai Laddiman]

Jono's new signature:
"[NB If my typing suddenly becomes lower-case and typo-ridden, apologies. It means I have a squirming penis on my lap]"

His?

[Phil Reynolds]

Jono's new signature:
"[NB If my typing suddenly becomes lower-case and typo-ridden, apologies. It means I have a squirming penis on my lap]"

His?

I'd already PM'd Jono with a similar query.

[Jon O'Neill]

Jono's new signature:
"[NB If my typing suddenly becomes lower-case and typo-ridden, apologies. It means I have a squirming penis on my lap]"

His?

I'd already PM'd Jono with a similar query.

You can talk about queeries! Hahaha! I'm so funny and good at Countdown that it's not even funny. But it also is.

[Charlie Reams]

Working backward it also logics out

You evidently adhere to the principle that any noun can be verbed.

Warning: Verbing weirds language.