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The New York Times Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, & Mispronounced Words
Featuring over 10,000 of the most difficult and interesting words in the English language, this practical and unique volume is great for students and adults, fans of word games, linguaphiles, and linguaphobes.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
About the author
The New York Times
1,840 books332 followersThe New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. Founded in 1851, the newspaper has won 112 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization. Its website receives 30 million unique visitors per month.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 10, 2013
I bought this book at a school book fair when I was 12-years old. I had been writing a lot of poetry and stories back then and my English teacher, who brought my class to the fair, recommended that I buy this book for my writing purposes (she was also happy that I was buying my own copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that we had read in class earlier in the year).
I've rated it three stars because it has been put to good use in my writing (until I started using the internet as a dictionary) and in Scrabble games, but there have been words that I've looked up that I know are misused and misunderstood (like allusion, bonk, dork, emigrate, jock, joint, etc.) that are not listed in the book.
It still sits on a shelf above my desk to this day.
I've rated it three stars because it has been put to good use in my writing (until I started using the internet as a dictionary) and in Scrabble games, but there have been words that I've looked up that I know are misused and misunderstood (like allusion, bonk, dork, emigrate, jock, joint, etc.) that are not listed in the book.
It still sits on a shelf above my desk to this day.
November 20, 2019
Intentionally limited in its selection, it suggests there are plenty of comprehensive dictionaries available listing as many words as they can pack in; a fact I can attest to, considering the number of them I’ve owned over the years! So, this is an eclectic collection, recording unusual words as defined by the subtitle of the book:
“Words we ‘know’ until someone asks what they mean; words we understand when we read them, but not when we hear them; words we recognize when we hear them, but not when we meet them in print; words we can read, but are unsure about using in conversation; words we can pronounce, but not spell (or vice versa).”
Taken from a random open page, the listings run from ‘liquate: to separate or purify metals by heating sufficiently to melt out the various constituents’; through ‘literati: men of letters; intellectuals (yes, it really does restrict this definition to males! An indication of antiquated thinking, I expect)’; and ‘long pig: pidgin for human flesh as a food for cannibals’; to ‘longueur: a tedious stretch, as of time or of a passage in a musical or literary work (something we, as writers, would surely never be guilty of!).
It covers a lot of abstruse (difficult to understand) words among its selection, so, if you’re looking to find the meaning of something out of the ordinary, it may be a quicker source. Though, in these days of the ubiquitous (omnipresent; being everywhere at once) internet search, perhaps such books have had their day?
“Words we ‘know’ until someone asks what they mean; words we understand when we read them, but not when we hear them; words we recognize when we hear them, but not when we meet them in print; words we can read, but are unsure about using in conversation; words we can pronounce, but not spell (or vice versa).”
Taken from a random open page, the listings run from ‘liquate: to separate or purify metals by heating sufficiently to melt out the various constituents’; through ‘literati: men of letters; intellectuals (yes, it really does restrict this definition to males! An indication of antiquated thinking, I expect)’; and ‘long pig: pidgin for human flesh as a food for cannibals’; to ‘longueur: a tedious stretch, as of time or of a passage in a musical or literary work (something we, as writers, would surely never be guilty of!).
It covers a lot of abstruse (difficult to understand) words among its selection, so, if you’re looking to find the meaning of something out of the ordinary, it may be a quicker source. Though, in these days of the ubiquitous (omnipresent; being everywhere at once) internet search, perhaps such books have had their day?
May 11, 2022
A useful book for writers, editors, puzzlers, broadcasters, those in public life who communicate with the spoken word and more. The language is changing every week. This reference, published in 1972 and updated in 2002, can use some updates.
December 24, 2022
Defiantly not the Oxford English Dictionary.
Well let’s face it, this dictionary is not “all” the misunderstood, misused, and mispronounced words. It is a section of what is assumed the most useful to have in a dictionary.
Well let’s face it, this dictionary is not “all” the misunderstood, misused, and mispronounced words. It is a section of what is assumed the most useful to have in a dictionary.
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October 23, 2025Featuring over 13,000 of the most difficult and interesting words in the English language, this practical and unique volume is great for students and adults, fans of word games, linguaphiles, and linguaphobes.
December 31, 2017
This is a book I will refer to often.
June 6, 2025
Nice to refer to, but, as others note, not comprehensive. It's the size of a medium-length novel (about 400-500 pages), so it's definitely easier to use than a large dictionary.
July 25, 2015
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13497512
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13497512
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews