S
Summo
Guest
Well? What do you peeps use? We all know Dictionary.com but frankly it just isn't cutting the mustard these days, largely because it uses American English (now there's an oxymoron).
As a forum service, I have picked out the top online ENGLISH dictionaries and rput them through a rock-solid test to separate the larvae from the pupae.
SUMMO'S BEST UK ON-LIN DICKSHUNARY
I'll start with the most common, Dictionary.com. Despite it's incredibly amateurish design and the pop-up ads, it seems to be the Dictionary of choice for BW peeps. Probably because they only have to remember one word for the URL. Searching for arse produces this disappointing result.
FAIL
Recommended in a different thread, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary features a cumbersome, crowded interface and a lacklustre results page. Chiefly it suffers from the same Americanism.
Closer to home, Cambridge Dictionaries Online has a very clean, uncluttered look but did demand an extra step before showing me the result. It seemed to want confirmation that I was looking for arse. Once I got there, the result was rousing and wholly British.
Perhaps the most renowned of the old, offline dictionaries, I got rather excited about the prospect of trialing the
Oxford English Dictionary only to find that it's subscription-only. Determined to persue a fair review, I tried to register only to find that I could only request a subscription by email - I couldn't sign up there and then. Not only that, there seemed to be a different system for North America peeps and the rest of the world. A quick traceroute revealed that yes! The great British institution of the Oxford English Dictionary has its online arm sitting on the network of Stanford University, California. Disgusted, I took my business elsewhere.
FAIL
Finally, for a laugh, I thought I'd try the MSN Dictionary. Despite a very crowded interface my search result was surprising.
PASS, despite a laughable sense of whats wrong with the world
In conclusion then, I'm pleased to recommend Cambridge Dictionaries Online as SUMMO'S BEST UK ON-LIN DICKSHUNARY and would encourage everyone to use it.
I thank you for your time.
As a forum service, I have picked out the top online ENGLISH dictionaries and rput them through a rock-solid test to separate the larvae from the pupae.
SUMMO'S BEST UK ON-LIN DICKSHUNARY
I'll start with the most common, Dictionary.com. Despite it's incredibly amateurish design and the pop-up ads, it seems to be the Dictionary of choice for BW peeps. Probably because they only have to remember one word for the URL. Searching for arse produces this disappointing result.
Oh dear. As we all know, arse did NOT derive from ass.
FAIL
Recommended in a different thread, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary features a cumbersome, crowded interface and a lacklustre results page. Chiefly it suffers from the same Americanism.
FAIL
Closer to home, Cambridge Dictionaries Online has a very clean, uncluttered look but did demand an extra step before showing me the result. It seemed to want confirmation that I was looking for arse. Once I got there, the result was rousing and wholly British.
PASSED, though improvements to be made
Perhaps the most renowned of the old, offline dictionaries, I got rather excited about the prospect of trialing the
Oxford English Dictionary only to find that it's subscription-only. Determined to persue a fair review, I tried to register only to find that I could only request a subscription by email - I couldn't sign up there and then. Not only that, there seemed to be a different system for North America peeps and the rest of the world. A quick traceroute revealed that yes! The great British institution of the Oxford English Dictionary has its online arm sitting on the network of Stanford University, California. Disgusted, I took my business elsewhere.
FAIL
Finally, for a laugh, I thought I'd try the MSN Dictionary. Despite a very crowded interface my search result was surprising.
I was surprised. It seemed to provide more information than Cambridge with fewer clicks to get me there, though I no idea of the historical link between arse and squirrel (I DO NOT value your input in this matter). I felt ashamed at having to recommend MSN as the best UK online dictionary until I noticed this: Clicking on ass gave me more detailed, relevant information but laughably referred to the word as being 'highly offensive', revealing its American heart and Daily Mail-style morals in one swoop.
PASS, despite a laughable sense of whats wrong with the world
In conclusion then, I'm pleased to recommend Cambridge Dictionaries Online as SUMMO'S BEST UK ON-LIN DICKSHUNARY and would encourage everyone to use it.
I thank you for your time.
